Lost in Time
by Shelling4869Ford
Summary: He has been hiding behind a mask for ten years now, protecting them by staying away; until a unavoidable case came up, pulling him back into Tokyo. The darkness of his past is a constant shadow, waiting to take its chance. But the question is: has she been waiting for him too?
1. 0 Time

Hey!

I proudly present my first long fanfiction here, it`s about 50 chapters long and I´ll try to update at least once a month. **It`s not an AU nor an OC.** It´s just a worst-case scenario I am toying with- but don´t worry I´ll reveal the details soon enough!

Thanks' to my lovely betas **Taliya** and **WinchestersOf221B** ! 3

And of course to Leira who did this amazing cover!

Have fun reading and of course I would love to hear your opinion ^_^

~ Shelling

* * *

 **Time**

* * *

" _Shinichi…"_

 _She gave his hand one last squeeze, pressing her fingers close to his for the last time. He could see the hesitation in her eyes, above the thin, blood-red smile on her lips._

" _T-Thank you, for everything."_

 _He was numb from her words. He knew what they meant, knew what was happening—yet still he was numb to everything surround him. His mind was isolating him against it, his body was shivering, and he felt like he was suffocating while he wished for all of this to be nothing more than a terrible dream._

" _No! NO! Come on… hang in there! You hear me…?" He tucked a strand of her hair away from her face, desperately trying to ignore the fact that her eyes had already lost their light._

" _Why did you do it?"_

 _His blood-smeared hands shivered; the metallic scent clouded his mind._

 _Blood. Everywhere._

 _Despair, anger, and grief made his voice quiver._

" _Why did you do it?"_

"WHY?!"

He gasped for air, bolting upright in his bed while his mind took its time figuring out that reality had reasserted itself. Cold fingers ran through his hair while he tried to will the unwelcome dream away. Nocturnal darkness surrounded him, the few rays of light that peeked through the shutters were not enough to brighten the room.

Slowly, he lowered his hand, closing his eyes to listen to his throbbing heart. 'Not again.´

He tried to calm his racing pulse with a silent curse while he glanced at the bright green LED-screen of his alarm clock in annoyance.

Only 05:43—yet sleep was already impossible.

His fingers nervously brushed over his face; cold sweat now covered his hand. He grimaced in disgust, turning down his blankets before walking to the bathroom with a silent shake of his head.

The cold water was a release. Wet and chilly, it brought him back to his senses. He hastily splashed his face with the cool liquid, washing his already clean fingers—which would never be clean again. His hands rested on the cold porcelain for a second while he bent over the sink, turning off the water just to watch the last drops hit the white sink. Finally he blinked before he looked away, brushing over his temple with cold fingers, but even the water could not wash the traces of his nightmare from his mind.

'It´s always the same…' He turned around without drying himself or looking in the mirror just once, only cursing this near daily ritual.

That was enough. He was sick of it.

Every time he lived through this scene anew, waking up in the middle of the night but unable to find sleep again. Just like a small child that stayed awake, too scared of the monsters beneath the bed or in the closet, which just waited to attack in the deep silence of the night. But even the brightest daylight couldn't scare _his_ monster away.

They stayed.

Attached, like his shadow, following him with every step he took, and he was not able to shake it off. Why was it haunting him?

He had left just to prevent something like that from happen again. He had left, leaving everything behind… leaving _her_ behind.

Yet time did not allow him forget; instead it forced him through the dark fog of his past again and again every night, only for him to see what he had done… and what he had not.

He left the bathroom with a sigh, slowly walking into the living room nearby. His teacup form yesterday was sitting, lonely, on the tiny table between the couch and armchair. The furniture dominated the room; the chair alone would have been enough for him, but he tried at least to keep it livable.

'It doesn't hurt to keep pretending.'

He frowned, moving to the big panorama window of his apartment, one of a few luxuries he had allowed himself. A few last drops of cold sweat ran down his spine, seeping in they grey dressing gown he had thrown on. The dark shadows beneath his eyes were testament to his bad night's sleep.

A short shiver went through his body; his fatigue dripped off him like cold rain. He would probably curse himself this afternoon when he tried to keep himself awake reading the latest case files, but it was not like he did not deserve it. He could not prevent it from happening back then, nor could he undo it… how much he would have loved to turn back time.

But time seemed to mess with him anyway. He knew that nothing could stop it. You could not touch it, could not hold it.

Time just kept moving.

It was either rushing forward or slowly pulling away. People could only watch it, all the while hoping that the powerful stream would not take them with it too soon.

A heavy sigh escaped his young throat.

He alone had betrayed it… or perhaps time had betrayed _him_.

With a tired shake of his head, he combed through his dark hair with his fingers—actually, it was _he_ who had been tricked by it. After all, he looked into these very same eyes, which had already looked at him ten years ago.

Their bright blue had not lost their power.

Their surroundings were free from any winkles, the slightest valleys could not be found around the corners of his mouth, unless he smiled a smile that had not been a real one for quite some time now.

He had finally caught up to the first grader, but he had never lost him completely.

Nausea hit him.

He was tired.

So damn tired of it!

He was sick of the picture in the mirror, which constantly lied to his face and forced him to adapt this very lie to his life. He tried not to avoid his mirror image in the window to see what he was… who he was.

A bitter smile revealed itself in the upturned corner of his mouth.

Only ten years ago, he had wished for nothing more than to see this picture again, to look in those eyes, so that he could lay them on her again.

'No, don't even start that again.'

A slight shudder shook his body; the short thought alone had already been too much for him. It was quite easy: he could not afford to think of her, he could not keep running after dreams which would never be fulfilled.

He closed his eyes and enjoyed the moment of peace in the darkness before he opened them again. His reflection in the window was gone, the hazy dawn beyond dampening the image. The cloudy spring fog had swallowed the rising sun, creating a big, deep red spot on the cloudy surface.

He looked over the city. There was not much traffic at this time of day, but he knew that in just a few minutes, half the city would find themselves on the streets, cursing and ranting in the daily traffic jam.

He shook his head with a soft smile until he recognized movement at the park's edge. Two persons were hastily leaving the Central Park. He was too far away to see their faces, but the fact that they were holding hands while hurrying down the street allowed him to deduce that they were possibly a young couple who had spent the morning, maybe even the night, in the green heart of the city.

He swallowed, directing his gaze away from them to observe the lungs of the city, which slowly lived up to its name after its long winter's sleep. A slight green veil was stretching over the trees, announcing the season of love.

His hands vanished into the pockets of his morning suit; he rolled his eyes in annoyance, scuffling through the living room but instead heading for the bathroom again. He stopped in front of a small dresser which flanked a closed door in the hallway. The third drawer opened with ease, revealing a few letters, along with a pile of his old notebooks. He took one of the more worn out books, whose pages already held a yellow tint to them. But when he opened the elastic band holding it together, a little copper colored key fell into his hand, which he had hidden between the thin pages like he had done every day.

He carefully closed the book again to put it back into the drawer.

No one could know that between the old companions of his mind, this little subject was the key to a whole different secret than his thoughts about any case.

He closed the drawer again and moved himself in front of the closed door. The key fit. He opened the door, entering the room before the door fell shut behind him with a silent click.

XXX

One hour had passed before he was finally sitting in his kitchen, eying his first coffee while the suddenly aged eyes peeked over his glasses to study the first pages of today's newspaper.

He yawned again, pressing the warm coffee mug to his lips.

The hands, which held the warm cup of coffee, seemed to match his abrupt change. His eyes wandered over the letters and lines formed of printer ink, but the words did not reach his mind. A sigh escaped his lips as he put the paper into his bag to read further during his lunch break.

He did not know that just a few pages in was an article that would throw his life off the track again.

He was simply too tired to read much more this morning, after he spent half the night awake at his desk. After he finished the file of his last case with a satisfied smile, he had given himself to writing. His unwanted writer's existence had opened the door to his job. Figuri out a case, writing, work… all of that just to keep his mind busy, leading it away from his thoughts.

His works were quite famous now; there were many people who liked what he wrote in the paper. But it was not his readers that kept him going. The simple act of typing down a story, at least, allowed him to interference with the lives of the characters, to guide them into the directions he wanted them to.

Something that life had not allowed him.

However, his main focus was still his job as a professor for Criminalistics at the New York University. He liked his job. For once, it allowed him to do what he always did, working as a detective; for another, he could not deny that he liked teaching his students how real-life investigation worked.

Besides his obsession with his work and good black coffee, he did not have any other vices. At least, for someone else it looked like Professor William Bell lived a perfect life.

Just a few—very few—people knew the man behind the facade. Just a handful knew that the life he pretended to live was truly hell on earth—that his biggest wish yet was still unfulfilled. And most people would think that it would stay that way, since it was not just the distance that stood between them.

He could not be with her without breaking against natures laws… or even worse, his own.

He swallowed; the truth was that they lost the belief in him a long time ago—even when no one had the heart to tell him—he could still see it in their eyes. And there were times, when he did not believe it himself, that he would ever be able to find his true age again.

He was lost in time…

So how could she ever believe that he would return to her? His sad gaze wandered down into his coffee pot. The stranger's face, he knew so well now, looked at him from the dark mirror.

Shinichi looked down at the second mask beside "Conan Edogawa" that he had created out of necessity, questioning to himself how much longer he had to pretend. 'Or rather how long I' m able to.´

A deep breath broke through the silence in his kitchen; with some difficulty he was able to thrust his worries aside, swallowing the now cold coffee down his throat while his gaze drifted to the clock.

It was the only one he kept beside his alarm clock. It showed several times at once: it told him the times of different cities around the world.

Of all the clocks in the world, he hated this one the most.

Looking up to the clock face with the "New York" label, he cursed, standing up in haste.

7:30… time to go.

With one last glance at the clock, he vanished out of the door.

In Japan, it was just half past eight in the evening.

XXX

The nighttime streets of Tokyo seemed threateningly empty; nothing showed the beginning signs of spring. Just one week ago, the tender sunrays touched the body of the first victim… one of many to come.

XXX

 _The warm spring sun shone down onto the brown leaves beneath his feet. The autumn of the past year still showed his imprints in the park; the fallen leaves, which had been replaced by new buds, had lost every color, leaving only the brittle and fragile skeletons behind._

 _The history of the past year had formed the path that he now walked on at a leisurely pace. The grey briefcase in his hand suddenly seemed lighter during his morning walk. He enjoyed the early emptiness of the park, which he traversed through to get to work. The mild sunlight warmed the earth, the frost on the new leaves dripping onto the withered ones on the ground. Life and death met during these hours, creating a harmonic aroma that he found he enjoyed every day._

 _The years of darkness and deprivation had taught him to savor every little detail in this world. He paused, greedily taking a breath of fresh air._

 _And suddenly he knew._

 _Tomorrow he would ask her._

 _He would take her to this park in the morning; they would for sure be alone on a Sunday at this time of day, have the park to themselves. And between this air filled with life and death, beneath the netted roof of the young trees, he would ask her._

 _She would look beautiful in the play of light and shadow, even more beautiful than usual. He had purchased the ring long time ago… and tomorrow she would finally wear it on her finger._

 _It would be perfect._

 _He could feel his heart beat faster at the very thought, jump up and down while suppressing every other emotion, even fear. He did not see the shadow behind his back, because perhaps he had always been there for the past several weeks, watching him while hidden in darkness._

 _Only when the sharp blade broke through the muscles of his back, digging in his lungs while it cut two holes in the process did panic finally claim his body, though the pain brought him down. He heard steps moving away from him, slowly and without haste. For a moment he believed that his attacker had turned around once more, looking at him with an approving smile, observing his work, but he could not be sure._

 _He wanted to scream, but his lungs failed him._

 _`No!´_

 _Blood._

 _He could taste it. The iron liquid painted his lips red. The rattle in his throat told him that his lungs were filling themselves with the life elixir only to drown him. A deep red carpet now surrounded him._

 _He gasped for air in panic; he searched the pocket of his trousers, his fingers clutching the little velvet coated box, which he had carried with him the day he bought it at the jewelry store._

 _Even while his eyes dulled and grew glassy, he knew that he would never give her the ring._

 _And yet he didn't even knew why…_


	2. 1 Professor William Bell

**Professor William Bell**

* * *

The big lecture hall smelled of musty old wood. The tables and chairs were arranged in a half circle, leading to a small platform below where a plain desk stood. Just the first two rows were filled, and there were not many students left. Most of them realized fairly quickly that reality did not match up to the spectacular crimes on TV, so they thought twice before avoiding the blood, murder, and death.

The lecture was coming to an end. He stood relaxed behind his desk, listening to the scratching of ball-point pens around him, allowing his students a few minutes to complete their notes while he looked around the circle of desks.

His fear that they might find out his secret was long gone; the unease, however, stayed. Shinichi suppressed a long breath, the thought alone about what could happen if they found out that their professor was much younger than most of them—even if just in body and not mind—made him nauseous. It would make them speechless, for sure. A bitter smile found itself on his lips. A false smile, in a false face of a person created by himself.

Professor William Bell.

He swallowed; nothing was real anymore. He still was behind by ten years' time. Conan had never left him… he was merely covered by a ton of makeup, hiding behind another character, a role which he played day after day. He had left for America, had been teaching for about one and a half years now, but under the layers of silicon, wig, and make up lurked the face of the seventeen-year-old high schooler once more: the face of Kudo Shinichi.

To show himself out in the open was impossible. Of course, with only a few little changes he could have gone to another school as a student too. That would have been easier, for sure.

He swallowed in annoyance, the sudden taste of blood making him realize that he had been biting his lips. He let off on the pressure, taking the glasses from his nose to polish them thoughtfully. He had decided against it in the end, had instead taken the trouble of creating his current charade. Sweating underneath the wig in the heat of summer, along with carefully dealing with the color on his face… everything seemed better than to start history anew. Finding new friends, lying to them again, pretending to be someone he was not… he had had enough of that.

He sighed, putting his glasses back on while he looked back into the rows to see that some students had looked at him in question, or were already discussing the buildup experiment in a hushed whisper. The smile on his lips appeared again; his students were nowhere near close to figuring out who was truly teaching them. He adjusted his glasses once again, moving forward with thoughtful steps and rounding the table which he had placed in front of his desk, observing his experiment.

Blood.

Blood was today's theme: its biological structure and function, along with a small history lesson on the detection of blood at a crime scene.

The thin white foam from the Kastle-Meyer Test was long gone, only the rusty red patch remained after its usage. Shinichi soon recognized that his students had not really been interested in the history of blood traces. No wonder, in these times of modern analysis methods. He shook his head, unable to suppress the cheeky grin that created false winkles around the corners of his mouth; he would make the next experiment tempting for them, no problem.

With a smirk, the false professor looked over the small table, observing the history of chemical methods for detecting blood. He cleared his throat to get their attention again. "You now know one of three different methods that I wanted to show you. Of course, most of them aren't used nowadays, but it's important for you to know the different steps science took to get the modern analytic you know today." Shinichi didn't even finish his sentence before he saw a hand rising from the corner of his eye.

'Like I didn't know it.' With a sweet smile, the professor turned to one of his students. The eyes of the young man burned like his fire-red hair, while little freckles stretched themselves like a net over his nose, supporting the smart glimmer in his gaze. "Yes, Mr. Simes? What is it?"

The boy didn't even try to hide the skepticism in his voice, his frowning eyes wandering from his professor to the table full of antiques, which he looked at sullenly. "I understand that these methods are what modern criminalistics were built upon. But, begging your pardon professor, wouldn't it be enough to just mention them? I thought we're supposed to learn the techniques, which we'd use in our future someday."

The eyes of the students wandered from Simes to Bell and back; no one wondered about the rude tone anymore: that was simply how Simes was, and Bell had learned to handle him quite well.

Without losing the smile on his lips, Shinichi went on, answering the question of the young man. "You're quite right Simes: we don't use these methods anymore to get answers to the telltale blood red clues. But that's not the problem. The better question is _why_ we don't use them anymore, isn't it?"

A low mutter went through the hall when Shinichi turned around to the small table; he could, however, still feel Simes' skeptical eyes on him. With a knowing smile, Shinichi picked up a small beaker with a clear liquid, holding it up for all to see. "We've got a little drop of blood solved in hydrogen peroxide and guaiacum resin in here. You will not able to see it with the naked eye, but just wait and see what will happen when I add this." Carefully, he took another vial, dripped a few clear drops in the solution, and waited.

The color changed after just a few seconds.

"It's turning blue!"

"So what?" Simes moodily commented the statement of his fellow student, obviously annoyed that his professor was simply ignoring him right now.

But Shinichi only gave the girl an encouraging nod. "That's right. What you see her is called the guaiacum test, apparently a clear detector for even a little fraction of blood." With a smile he put the blue vial back and took another one which was still clear. "But now back to your question Mr. Simes. Would you please do me the honor?"

"What? B-But?" The redhead looked, surprised, at the second beaker his professor was holding up to him, and the acrid smell of the hydrogen peroxide burned in his lungs. "What am I supposed to do?"

Shinichi couldn't hide the smirk on his face, choosing his words, carefully polite. "I would kindly ask you to spit into it."

"WHAT?"

Not only Simes' eyes grew wide; the other students were staring at their professor as well.

"I think you understood me quite well."

"But I… I can't simply… I mean—"

For just a few seconds, Bell's laughter filled the room. He walked back behind his desk with a shake of his head to crown his performance by tugging out a bottle of red wine, uncorking it with a silent pop.

Against some students' expectations that their professor had completely lost it, Shinichi didn't drink anything from the bottle. Instead he tipped just one tiny drop of the deep red liquid into the test liquid. The mixture changed into a bright blue color, which did not differ from the vial with blood in it.

A silent murmur went over the ranks of the lecture hall, but the eyes of the students were still glued to their professor, who stood beside the two blue liquids with a pleased smile.

"Just like Holmes said, the guaiacum test is not reliable." The mention of their professor's very nickname made the students sinker while they listened further to his words. "The proof of blood with the resin of the Caribbean guaiacum tree isn't very specific. The resin reacts with blood and red wine just as it would have reacted to Mr. Simes' saliva, turning the solution blue."

Shinichi turned to the usually energetic young man, whose cheeks were still red with embarrassment. "I just wanted to show you and your fellow students which pitfalls have been laying in the way to modern blood analytics. Sometimes we shouldn't believe our eyes."

Simes nodded when the sudden said smile caught his attention, but the professor began to explain the next test without giving away his feelings. The Uhlenhuth test marked the crowning end of the medieval-like detection methods. A test, which worked with fresh blood as well as old, only reacting to human hemoglobin… in other words the "Holmes-method", since Sherlock Holmes had developed a quite similar technique, like Shinichi told them once again.

With a glance at the clock he finished his lesson, dismissing his students into fresh air. "We will see each other again in one hour down in the pathology lab, ladies and gentlemen. Ah Mr. Simes—" The student blinked when his professor placed the full bottle of red wine in front of him. "Would you be so kind as to dispose this for me?"

The redhead narrowed his eyes and looked at him quizzically until Bell's smile told him what his professor meant. "Wouldn't you rather do that yourself professor?"

Shinichi faltered, avoiding his gaze before he shook his head, his voice silent. "No, it's quite alright Mr. Simes." He went to his desk to pick up his bag while he struggled with an innocuous smile. "I don't care for alcohol very much."

XXX

The pathology laboratory was different from the lecture hall, and part of the newer buildings within the university complex; however, it did not made it much more charming. The impersonality, along with the dominating sterility, sent a shiver down his spine every time he had to step in there. He always hated these rooms. It might be true that personal feelings should be left in front of these doors, but even the dead did not deserve this clinical coldness.

Just about ten students fit into the grey tiled room with just enough space to move around. The left wall looked like a chromed beehive, except the honeycombs had been built rectangular by mistake. The wall was tightly packed with the steel cooling rooms.

On the opposing side hung various instruments, which had made some students flee not only from the room itself. Saws, chisels, tools to spread the ribcage, something that looked like hedge clippers, drills, and something else which looked suspiciously like a dipper.

Shinichi turned his head away; he did not intend to use any of those tools. While there were forensics who would argue about who was allowed to take these bodies apart, he certainly had no plans to do so.

His focus belonged to the appearance of the victim alone; he did not need one of those butcher knives to deduce what he needed to know. He took a deep breath in annoyance, trying to retreat back into his old objectivity, even if it was not easy for him since he knew quite well that an autopsy had been performed on her as well.

'No, pull yourself together.'

He shook his head, fixing the three steel tables that he had prepared for today's lesson. He could make out the shape of the figures below the clean green sheets. The manner in which they were covered was more similar to a surgery than an autopsy but no doctor in the world would be able to bring these three patients back to life.

Bell frowned sadly and coughed in his fist to get the attention of his students again. The time when they dropped like flies or ran to the toilets when they just had to walk in here was long over—death had become routine for them long ago. A coin that Shinichi knew had two sides.

"Thanks for joining me. I want to use today's lesson to improve your practice. Like each of you know, it's part of the criminalistics to search the crime scene for evidence. In order to do so, it's necessary to get a good look at the victim as well. You already learned how to use rigor mortis together with livor mortis to deduce the time of death. But a murder victim isn't made out of the pathologic report alone. The things that are the most important ones for our investigation aren't written in there. Today's main target it to sharpen your eyes for these little details. Therefore—",

He turned around to the tables. "We have three test… persons. Everything is as it had been found at the crime scene. I will not tell you if the death is caused by murder. Ready?" Some students nodded briefly, answering Shinichi's question. He looked into the small assembly before he carefully tugged on the sheet exposing the first victim.

A woman.

Shinichi swallowed, and allowed himself to study her along with his students. He had not seen the bodies himself until now, so that his search was just as fresh and new every time. Only a few minutes had passed until the shadow between his eyebrows deepened. He rearranged his glasses on his nose as he let his gaze wander back to the woman.

She was young—twenty, twenty-three maybe—her blonde hair clung to her head in oily strands, missing the shine that her owner might have placed importance on during her lifetime. With a quick look he combed through her file in his hands, which—in contrast to the ones he had given his students—told him the name and age of the victim… she was sixteen.

He took a deep breath and turned to his students. "Miss Swan, would you please tell me something about the victim?" The addressed girl winced at the sound of her name and nervously pushed her glasses up the bridge of her nose, skimming hastily through her files.

"Well—we… we've got a woman. Time of death was about eighteen hours ago. She has a big hematoma on her left forearm, the cause of death isn't clear yet."

Silence followed her words. She gasped for air, carefully looking up from her papers, but the professor was not looking at her. He did not spare her a glance, his eyes resting on the victim.

"I'm sorry…" His voice had a gentle, even sad tone to it, though no one knew to whom he was speaking at this moment. "I fear, miss Swan that you misunderstood my question." He turned around again, looking at them with demanding eyes. "Can someone help out here?"

Tentatively, the arm of another girl rose; she nervously wound one of her brown looks around her finger while she spoke. "Well… I think, the time when she was found and the number of the certificate of death are important too, it's 586—"

" _No!"_ Bell's voice echoed through the little room, it took him some time to calm down again. "That's _not_ how it works." He tiredly massaged his temple while he tried to keep his voice down. "I know they told you to keep your distance from the victim, and that isn't wrong at all. But—if you keep looking only at dates and numbers, you'll never solve a case. You're not working with unmoving objects, things, or other subjects; you're working with _humans_. Even death can't take that away from them, so…" His eyes slid over his glasses to stare heavily at them, "… I want you to tell me something about this young woman."

Bell took a step back, allowing them to see the victim again. He could see how his words began to sink into the minds of some while others still leafed through their files in search of help, until a clear voice disturbed the silence.

"She was in love." A young woman took a step out of the group, her green eyes wandering from the victim to her professor and back. "The mark on her neck definitely isn't one of the death marks. Besides…" She smiled sadly. "… she has a little heart with two initials drawn in the palm of her hand." The rest of the group took one step towards the body in order to get a closer look on the ominous drawing.

But Shinichi's eyes rested on her, and she looked to see him nodding in approval. "Very good, Ms. Tomsen. That's it. You should observe. Of course it's useful to get some theories in order to get the fitting evidence, but in order to get those, you need to be able to search for them. That's why it's so important to deduce the life story from the dead body. Anything else?"

"She must have been bawl—I mean crying."

Shinichi raised an eyebrow. "How did you get the idea, Mr. Simes?"

"Well… normally we only get bodies from nearby to our pathology lab. Her makeup is smeared, but it didn't rain yesterday. That means that she either took a shower like that or… she had been crying." The eyes of the redhead lost their shine as he looked back to the victim while Shinichi nodded slowly.

"You have to include all these things in your investigation; you have to check them in order to work with them. We're here today for you to learn how to use these little details in order to find the truth…" He looked sadly at the young girl. "… as depressing it might be."

Shinichi did not need to wait for the forensic report. Her yellow-colored eyeballs, her young but winkled skin, the angry red color of her nasal wings, and the little blood traces which had been seeping through her sweatshirt in the crook of her arm spoke for itself. His gaze drifted to the blood analysis in her file.

Drugs.

A short sigh escaped the professor's lips. The eyes of his students had followed his lead, they knew enough to come to a conclusion so that not only Simes, with his bottle of red wine in his bag, grew uneasy.

Without going further into this topic, Shinichi covered the body again, going to the next table.

It was not necessary to ask whether or not it was a murder.. It was quite obvious. The victim was male, in his thirties, and apparently had been quite concerned about his figure or health. Well, it was not like it had done him any good in the end. The sweat marks under his arms were already dry; they were barely visible beneath the blood that soaked the dark green texture of his jogging suit. His worn down shoes told them that he was not a simple casual runner. The tan lines on his wrist indicated a missing watch, and together with the information that the body had been found in one of the more dangerous parts of New York, could lead them to many conclusions—the harsh slash through his throat, left only left one.

The students slowly learned how to use what he had been trying to teach then, so Shinichi eventually moved on to the next body with a confident smile.

The green sheet outlined out the body of a woman; some could already guess that death had come too early for her as well. With a fast jolt he tugged the fabric away, revealing the women up to her hip.

Silence filled the room again.

The students' eyes wandered over the body of the young woman, up from her pale face and red colored lips, and down to the dark hole at the level of her heart.

Slowly their gazes drifted up to Professor Bell, waiting for him to say something, but at the sight of him everybody knew that he was not able to speak right now.

His lips were deathly pale, and Bell's eyes were so wide their cool blue seemed rigid. Traces of such fear and pain were usually found on the faces of the victims, who had looked death itself in the eye.

Shinichi, however, could not feel their eyes on his skin. Panic, fear, and pain killed every other emotion in him.

'No!'

He tried to look away, he wanted to get away from here, but something inside him refused to do so. Something forced him to look, forbid him to run away even as it seemed to enjoy his agony.

He should see what he had done… he should suffer.

His numb eyes rested on the girl, her face blurring with _hers_ again and again.

She looked just like _her_.

Her face was flawless, pale and pure, as though death had craved it out of the finest marble. The dark red spot on her green pullover created a dark hole in her heart. Her lips were colored in blood red, while the fine trickle at the corner of her mouth looked like her hand had slipped during an application of lipstick.

Her strawberry blonde hair was the perfect contrast to her deathly white skin; it barely reached her shoulders.

She was twenty… twenty-two perhaps, the age she should have been back then.

"No!"

The silent gasp came hoarse out of his throat; he could feel how cold sweat crawled down his forehead, threatening to blow his cover.

He did not care.

Shinichi could not think straight. Pictures and scenes flickered before his eyes, and he could not escape them.

He balled his shivering hands into fists, gasping for air as he tried to steer his gaze away from her, but her blood-red lips would not let him go. With a curse he closed his eyes, but even then the images he saw were darker than reality. No matter where he fed the dark shadows always kept following him.

"Professor? Are you alright?"

Shinichi was jolted from his thoughts when he recognized the unsure pressure on his shoulder, and the time and place of where he was hit him harshly in the gut. The cold, the bright light, the smell of disinfectant, blood, and death made nausea rise up inside him.

"The—the lesson is over, you may go." His voice quivered, unlike anything they had known from Bell. The students looked at him, unsure and worried.

"B-But professor?"

"I said OUT!" He turned around, anger in his voice. "OUT! ALL OF YOU!"

Startled, the students took a step back, Shinichi suddenly recognizing the fear in their eyes and turned around, ashamed, but panic still was in control of his body.

He shivered and tried to support his weight on the table, but the cold from the metal crept inside his skin; he heard his students leaving the room until silence was his only companion. He could not remember the last time his past had caught up with him that drastically. This was not supposed to happen… he was not allowed to behave like this.

With a curse he closed his eyes, fumbling carefully for the fabric to cover her. He could not leave her… not like that. He opened his eyes to cover her respectfully, but the sight made his stomach twist.

He fled from the room in blind panic.

But the nausea only intensified: he was running away… again.

XXX

His steps echoed sharp and loud from the walls, tiny sweat drops covered beading his forehead. York's gaze searched for the white door in front of him; he pushed it open until it fell, shutting in his bellowing voice.

"Damn it, Bell! I've been searching for you everywhere! What the—?"

The university director Maximilian York shot his employee a questioning look; the sound of rushing of water formed a quiet background noise that neither of the two men seemed to hear. Bell stood in the small men's restroom, hands on the little sink looking at the rushing water just until now. He had watched the stream in a silent trance, as though he was waiting for it to take him with it.

"What are you doing here?"

Shinichi swallowed noisily, looking up at his superior until he managed a cheeky grin. "I needed to do some _business_ boss, but if you're interested in the details I'll go and write a report for you right away."

York winkled his nose, seemingly affronted, but the small smile on his lips betrayed him. He watched in worry at how William washed his hands briefly before he carefully blotted them dry, like he was afraid to shatter something.

Strange.

This man had been strange from the day they met.

A lone wolf, and yet eloquent and clever, so that if you had him persuaded, a conversation with him could be more than enlightening and interesting but also quite entertaining. His teaching methods were rather unconventional, so to speak, but never had a semester been better than under his instruction. The students, his fellow colleagues, everyone liked him, but if you got too close to him, he holed himself back up into his shell of cases, murder, and death.

His private life seemed nonexistent, but the common opinion was that there had to be a reason for his strange behavior. His clever, sometimes even youthful eyes seemed to have a dull shine to them on some days, so that everyone thought that William Bell himself might have been a victim of a case that even the successful criminologist and detective couldn't solve. York knew him well enough by now to know that he would not accept help in that matter—whatever it was. If there was something the detective could not solve immediately, he would usually work on it for days afterwards, a fact that was neither was good for his health nor conductive to his work at the university.

A broad smile spread over the lips of the university's head. He had the perfect cure for his colleague up his sleeve. He would suggest it to him as a friend, and as his employee, he did not have much of a chance.

"So?" Bell's annoyed grimace ripped him out of his thoughts. "What can I do for you? I don't assume that you've followed me to the toilet to remind me of proper protocol in this very room… sir?"

The man coughed slightly, ignoring the subtle jab; the darkness was all too clear to be seen in Bell's eyes. He would have made an excellent actor, York was sure of that. The blond shook his head; his voice was stern and did not permit any objections. "I have a case for you, Bell."

"Hm?" Shinichi's eyebrows rose in interest as he followed the unsaid cue of his boss to follow him into his office. Neither of the spoke as Shinichi followed York into his room, where he took one of the seats in front of York's desk as the man he closed the door behind them.

It was not uncommon that he got a case; in fact, he was a welcome guest in the New York Police Department… but something seemed to be different this time.

Shinichi swallowed; he heard how the door closed behind his back with a soft click, could not ignore the bad feeling in his stomach any more… something was amiss. No sooner had the door closed he could hear a short rustling, then a second click, and as he expected York stepped from behind him with the usual cigarette between his lips, rounding his desk before he took his seat in front of him. He was chain-smoker; among the students existed the rumor that he produced more smoke more than the whole town produced in the year. He was in his forties, and his fine twirled mustache could even make Poirot himself jealous if it was not for the ugly nicotine strain. But the blond, already greying hair revealed his addiction.

"Have you read the paper yet?" York questioned without lifting his gaze from the wooden desktop. A short breath shook him. Shinichi had feared that one of his students might have told his boss about his strange behavior today. Obviously he had been wrong about that. Thankful and relieved about the welcome distraction, he leaned back into the brown leather chair.

"Just a part of it. But since I didn't read anything about a robbery, kidnapping or murder, I assume that I didn't make it to the page, which might give a hint about this rather ominous case." He frowned, and looked up wondering. "This _is_ about a case, right?"

York nodded, wiping the ash of his cigarette off into the bronze ashtray with a twisting movement. Shinichi impatiently observed the actions of his boss, whose words seemed to match his evasive move. "You could really use a vacation my friend, you're looking… old."

Shinichi couldn't stop his face from twitching; he could barely hold back the bitter laughter but promptly swallowed it so forcefully that it took some time before his coughing attack passed, which only seemed to worry York even more.

"I mean it. You're inside these walls longer and more often than me—and yet my wife is bugging me, suggesting that I should move in here already!" He shook his head, taking a deep tug on his cigarette before he turned to Bell again. "Fact is: you _need_ a vacation."

"But sir, we got over this already. I don't mind—"

"No!" York rudely disturbed his addempt to wiggle himself out of it; he did not let it pass this time. "No 'Buts' today, Bell! Your behavior just now… down in the pathology lab spoke for itself. Even your students have started to worry about you, man. You need some rest."

Shinichi struggled with himself for nothing; his body had gone stiff already. His gaze left York's eyes, and he stared into nothing while his fingers dug deeper into the fabric of his trousers. So someone had been talking. Shinichi groaned; probably it had been Janice, who always seemed a little too cautious around him. He knew the girl probably just wanted to help him… but in fact, she did not know what she had done this time.

His eyes drifted back to York in silence, who was still watched his employee with a stern gaze. 'The man knew when and how to use his joker, that's for sure,' he thought. But York did not want to go further into that topic; it seemed it had been his only aim to show William that he knew quite well what happened on his university.

"I know that there is a workaholic inside you." York shook his head disapprovingly, but continued in a more understanding tone. "I don't even try to keep you away from work: quite the opposite. Even so, I do think that a change of air wouldn't hurt."

Shinichi's eyebrow rose in interest; now _that_ sounded different. York saw the glint behind the glasses and began to explain, rather pleased with himself.

"Everything is already planned and prepared. Your flight leaves tomorrow morning at half past nine. My friend and head of the local university there will pick you up from the airport and arrange your lodging. Don't wonder about it; his lessons are not so frequent anymore, and since he's the leading pathologist on this case he'll be able to fill you in just fine. You'll like him, as he also is somewhat…"

 _Strange_ lingered on his tongue, but his month decided differently.

"…distinct." York ended his torrent of words.

He recognized the disapproving gaze in Bell's features; the annoyed adjusting of his glasses was proof that he still did not like his decision. York had hesitated at first to present William with a faith accompli, but he had better arguments even if Bell did not yet know it.

Bell looked at him thoughtfully, peeking over the rim of his glasses with a question. "So I'll be sitting on the plane tomorrow. And wherever—if I may ask—is my promising travel going to?"

"Japan."

The word echoed like a shot in Shinichi's ears.

'No.'

The blow hit him hard and punched the air from his lungs. Shinichi could feel how the blood fled from his cheeks; he was glad that Bell's mask covered his paleness. Images consumed his mind again, mixing themselves with the memories from the girl who was now resting in the cold aluminum box below his feet.

"No…"

The word that left his sore throat was nothing more than a whisper. York grimaced in surprise, but tried to hold up a friendly face to convey him. "The local authorities have aready been already informed; the Japanese Police didn't jump for joy but the press is already panting for you."

"I said NO!"

Bell had jumped from his seat and stood in front of him with balled fists. The blue eyes looked angrily down on him, but York could see the same panic in them which Bell had tried to hide earlier in the bathroom as well.

'What's wrong with you man?' He shot the criminalistics professor a stern look, choosing the tone to speak to him very well. " _Listen_ William, I've given you a carnival license at this university, but you are still are under my instructions. You'll fly tomorrow. You're the best man for the job, if not just for your broad knowledge of the language… What? Don't give me that look! My dear Bell, my knowledge in Japanese might be limited, but I even I know that someone who's able to curse so colorfully in the language, like you have proven in the last case in Big Apple, must have more than just a slight vocabulary. Furthermore, I _do_ have a certificate on a two-year residence from you at a Japanese university in your file, in case you've already forgotten about it."

Shinichi stood before him as though struck by lightening. Of course he had forgotten about his stay… at least, it had never taken place. The witness protection program had played a trick on him. He bit down on his bloodless lips; normally he was in control of his English, but when the murderer had escaped them in the last second, his native tongue had returned in his momentary lapse of anger.

He groaned, letting himself fall back into the seat where the still-warm leather welcomed him. His head was spinning; he had not set a foot on his homeland in the past ten years. And his deal with the FBI and the witness protection program forbade it until…

He swallowed, shaking his head in surrender, banishing the thoughts from his mind, and he tiredly rubbed his temples.

'This has to be a bad dream!'

York looked upon his employee without understanding, trying further to convince him of his plan. "Professor Matzudo is the head of our associated university in Japan, and was pleased to get you for this case. Believe me, Bell, there is no better man for the job than you."

Shinichi's gaze wandered back over to him. He tried to avoid running his hand over his face, and instead he adjusted the glasses on his nose again. "And why is that? Why do they need _me_ of all people to solve their case?"

York smiled a knowing smile, his hand vanishing underneath his desk until it appeared again with the newspaper in it, which he held in front of Williams nose. "It's quite simple; you'll be interested in this case… Sherlock."

Shinichi raised his eyebrows, his nickname among the students made him nervous every time now, and yet he could not hold back including the little analogies into his lessons. He sighed, a fact that seemed to seal his doom right now.

He grasped the paper, unfolding in on his knees and began to browse through it. "Page fifteen.", York told him, leaning back in his chair with a pleased smile on his lips. He eagerly watched how Bell's fine hands turned the pages, until his eyes got caught the text in question.

Shinichi studied the lines for a few minutes, but his heart stopped at the name of the district alone.

 _Beika._

Shinichi swallowed, his eyes flew over the words, but they already could not reach his mind.

It was impossible.

He could _not_ take this case.

He tried to control himself; he had to convince York that the case was not for him. He slowly leaned back, letting the rag settle on his knees while he played his fingertips together. "The murder of a thirty-three-year-old Japanese, which the press is already hyping to be the potential beginnings of a serial murder? Why should I care about this obvious overreaction?"

"W-What?!" York's voice sounded hoarse; he reached for the paper in disbelief and turned to the next page before holding it back underneath his colleagues nose. "There! That's why, Bell! Your foible for a certain detective is well known. There is _no_ one who's suited better for this job than yourself."

But Shinichi could not hear him any longer, his eyes were glued to the short text the murderer had left with his victim.

" _Ladies and Gentlemen,_

 _It seems like the one-eyed have gone blind completely._

 _Therefore, I allow myself to offer you my services in order to close this study in scarlet._

 _Respectfully yours, Mr. Sherlock Holmes"_

* * *

 **Hi together!**

 **Thanks' for reading so far!**

 **I thought it would be nice to post the chapter on my birthday, well I am a day to late now but here you have it. And yes- Shinichi has a third identity now- and yeah… something happened to Ai, you might as well connect it to Shinichi's nightmare form the previous chapter.**

 **And of course, I'll send him right back to Japan… there you might get to know what exactly happened ten years ago.**

 **I would love to hear your thought about my little story!**

 **Till next month, or your next comment ~**

 **\- Shelling**


	3. 2 Return

**Return**

The soft rays of the afternoon sun lit her cheeks with its golden light, banishing the wintery cold within her. The crowded streets of Tokyo pulled her along with its current. Ran was already halfway to her apartment, when the monotonous voice of the TV announcer got her attention.

" _Sherlock Holmes is still on the loose!"_

Ran stopped suddenly. She didn't need to search for long before she located the source of the voice, a news reporter on the displayed televisions of a nearby electronics store. A small audience had already assembled before the display, and each one of them had their very own opinions on the case, which they discussed with each other loudly. Slowly, with stiff, robotic movements, Ran stepped closer to the little store, until she could see the wrinkled face of the old anchor.

" _The police still don't have any new information in this case. The culprit and the motives remain unknown. The strange letter which was signed by a 'Mr. Sherlock Holmes' has left the Police Task Force grasping for clues."_

Ran swallowed, her gaze was bound to the monitor, which now showed the blurred lines of the letter, which the murderer had left behind with the victim. The murder took place one week ago, but the press was still dragging it up. It didn't help that, of all people, a soon-to-be journalist was the victim who fell to his peril when he'd taken this chance to push his carrier a little bit further. Ran knew from her dad that in the police stations, all hell had broken loose.

The cold wind brought Ran back from her ponderings on the case; the winter and frost made the twenty-seven-year-old shiver. And yet, her gaze was still glued to the neatly tipped signature of the murderer.

 _Sherlock Holmes._

"That would have been a case for…him, right?"

Ran whirled around in surprise; but before she even had the time to answer the question, the high schooler was reprimanded.

"Genta-kun! You know that we should not mention him when she is-"

"Do you know something about the case, Ran-neechan?" Ayumi interrupted the two squabblers tactfully, to avoid further damage. She'd learned how to deal with Genta and Mitsuhiko way back. Of course, Ran had noticed the little maneuver, but she was thankful for it since it gave her time to regain her composure. She willed a resigned smile on her lips and shook her head.

"No, I'm sorry. I've heard that the police themselves are still in the dark about this."

"I see!" Ayumi chirped.

Then almost in unison, wide grins broke out on all three of their faces.

"But, Ran-neechan, we are not at school anymore!"

The grin got even wider at Genta's words and Ran could only surrender with a shake of her head.

She wasn't the teacher of those three for long now. She took the job as a teacher in history and Japanese at the Taitan High School one year ago. It was hard at first, to change their behavior around each other, but Ran knew that neither her boss nor the other pupils, would like it, if she made distinctions for whatever reasons. They simply had to get used to it, even if it was strange to have these three in her classes. She looked at them with a chuckle, the former grade schoolers in those blue school uniforms…they might have grown up a bit but somehow, they hadn't changed at all.

'The same wild bunch as before.'

Ran didn't even finish her thought before the winter's chill claimed her again, making her shudder. She bit her lips as her gaze wandered to the ground, she didn't bother herself about the people around her. She wouldn't hear their conversations and muttering that way.

Ten years, ten whole years had passed.

And yet she still couldn't stand the thought.

'You still are a crybaby, Ran.'

The three high school students exchanged concerned looks; they knew the expression on their teacher and friend's face quite well. A sorrow which she kept trying to hide as best as she could and to which they'd found no cure. Mitsuhiko raked his hands through his hair, and the eyes in the field of freckles got brighter for a second before he spoke.

" _We_ 'll solve this case, Ran-neechan!"

Pulled away from her thoughts, the young woman looked up three older, but nonetheless determined faces. For a second, the old memories mixed themselves up with the new picture. They might be older now; but when it was about a case, the three retained their naïve enthusiasm, and their eyes shone bright with their excitement.

"You'll see! We'll get the criminal!" Genta nodded, enthusiastically supporting Mitsuhiko's declaration with a typical grin, "That's right; we'll solve this case faster than you can say all on rice!"

"The detective boys will solve this case in the blink of an eye; our honor is at risk after all!" Ayumi laughed a clear, sweet laugh, and her two classmates joined in soon.

The past years didn't change the fact that the two boys still liked Ayumi in a non-platonic way, but the good thing was that Ayumi didn't change either – she wasn't blown away by the infatuation of the two guys, and still steady on her feet.

Anyhow, the ambition of all three still caused her worries; they still called themselves The Detective Boys, but everyone who knew their past knew that their success rate right now wasn't their greatest. However, the three never gave up. They stubbornly clung to the legacy left behind by _those_ two.

She gulped and struggled for a smile. That blast of reality that trickled through the layers of denial she'd carefully built up over the years did a number on her emotional state.

"Well then, I wish you all the best of luck! But that doesn't mean you can neglect your homework during these heavy investigations." The three registered how Ran used her "teacher" voice, so that they answered in the synchronic chorus they'd -like all other students- reserved for teachers.

"Of course!"

With a laugh, the detective boys said goodbye to Ran; who followed them with her eyes until they got swallowed by the crowd of people in Tokyo's streets. She sighed, her gaze went back to the monitors where now, her father's favorite weathergirl tried to convince the people with _all_ arguments she had that they should enjoy the coming days despite the announced rain.

Ran smiled dryly, something told her that Tokyo would be fighting bigger problems than the approaching dark clouds.

XXX

"I said no!"

"No, Shinichi, you'll not take this case!"

The eyes behind the still too big glasses held a dangerous sparkle, the long blonde hair hung loose on her shoulders, her hand akimbo. Jodie was slowly growing tired of debating with her impossible charge, Shinichi, who sat in the armchair of the office and let her shout at him, while he had crossed his hands in front of his chest in a clear sign of his opposition. Jodie eyed him with a silent shake of her head; the great professor was as stubborn as a small child.

But this bitter comparison didn't seem to interest Shinichi at all; he picked at the thin silicon layer on his hand, for lack of better things to do. It only took his ride from the university to the FBI Headquarters to change his opinion. The reason of his former refusal was now the reason of his wish to take this flight.

He would be able to see _her_.

Just catching a glimpse… to see if she, and everyone whose safety he was fighting for, was alright.

It was risky for sure.

If something went wrong, all the hard work done in the past years would be ruined in an instant. He could understand Jodie's worries, but he knew he'd never get such a chance again. Since he was going as William Bell and not as Kudo Shinichi, and he had a good reason to be in Japan. That finally gave him the chance to look at them, to refresh the dusty pictures in his mind and to revive what was barely a memory anymore.

He knew nothing about what happened to them in the past ten years.

Damnit, he didn't even know if they were still alive!

The FBI took care of the information blackout on both sides; he was part of their plan and part of the witness protection program, they'd taken steps so he wouldn't be tempted to go back in the first place.

No wonder that Jodie didn't like his plan; that meant having to break out of this carefully made system. Shinichi tried to act like he didn't care at all as he looked up to her over Bell's glasses.

"I'll go, Jodie, everything is already prepared. I'll never be able to leave this country under lesser suspicions. No…" He cut in her yet unspoken objection with a shake of his head. "I'll fly."

"Thatis _not_ for you to decide."

Shinichi turned around with a jerk. He hadn't heard James Black coming, who was now standing in the room. He slowly stepped forward to his desk, clearing the view for Akai Shuichi, who stood by the door frame with a blank expression. As usual, he didn't spare Shinichi even a glance, and was tugging on some overhanging tobacco fibers from the tip of his cigarette, he was bored of these proceedings.

Shinichi swallowed nervously. He hadn't visited these people in quite some time and every time he came back here, he could see a little too well that time seemed to be toying with him. Their faces showed him once more that time only seemed to stand still for him right now. Maybe also a reason he didn't visit his second home that much.

James Black was approaching his annuity, the wrinkles around the by now grey-white beard got deeper, but sharp eyes of the old man showed that he would never give up on hunting the black shadows which haunted him still.

"Listen James, I know that this plan is against our deal and you know that I would never do it if I would suspect any risk for them!"

Black's answer to this argument was accompanied with a raised eyebrow. "And what about the danger for yourself, Shinichi?"

The question didn't need an answer while Black tiredly shook his head.

"Before we discuss this matter further, I would like you to take off the mask. You know that I don't like talking to a layer of silicon."

Shinichi didn't even bother to object, but did as he was told with a slight huff. The glasses found their way into his pocket before he searched his neck with trained fingers for the beginning of his mask. He wedged his fingertips between his skin and the silicon and yanked Bell's face off of his own. As the mask and wig fell on the floor beside him, he undid a few pins from his unruly hair and removed the gadget responsible for Professor Bell's voice. A further development of Professor Agasa' s voice changing bow, a transmitter hidden behind his canine tooth words to the voice changer and the outside world, so that he didn't need to hold the annoying bow in front of his face.

After he put the small device into his pocket, he stubbornly let himself sink deeper into the armchair.

"Happy?"

James didn't even wince at the now-youthful voice; Shinichi's "change" was now mundane for him. He had seen this boy grew up, watched how Conan Edogawa had become Kudo Shinichi once more… and yet still far away from the person he was supposed to be.

Most probably, this year was going to be harder for him than the others, because if Shinichi was to look in the mirror now, the image would only give him evidence that would erase the existence of the past ten arduous and heartbreaking years – and yet the one responsible for his whole misery was looking at him from behind the glass.

James' gaze roamed over Shinichi's face. He was dangerously pale, which was no wonder since he was always hiding behind this masquerade. The eyes of the detective still rested on him, the voice wasn't Bell's any more but his tone remained demanding.

"It could not be safer for William Bell to travel to Japan. I'll solve this case, maybe see some of them during that time and that's it! I'll behave and come back, well trained as I am."

"And you're sure that it's going to be that easy, Shinichi?"

The one spoken to didn't answer, but held Black's strong gaze. Nothing in James' carefully neutral expression seemed to be changing anytime soon. But Shinichi knew that something was already working behind the wrinkled forehead of the old agent.

James Black knew this look, stubbornness mixed with hope – back then, fear also had joined into this mix; but this time, the opposite could be seen there.

Joy.

He was happy.

He was ready to risk everything, just to be close to them again after ten years; even if it was just for a short duration. James stroked his mustache thoughtfully; he knew that the past years hadn't been easy for him. They had made a deal back then, on the day he had come to them. Shinichi followed their rules, was sharing his knowledge and helped out with a case once or twice. In exchange, they ensured his safety and allowed him a life that could adapt to his special conditions.

He couldn't complain and he never did.

He didn't complain when his eyes grew empty.

He didn't complain about the fake face, he saw in the mirror.

He didn't complain that he was living a life that wasn't his own, and had to pretend like Kudo Shinichi no longer existed.

Black felt like a lump of lead was suddenly dropped in his stomach as he took a good look at the "high school student" sitting in his old chair.

"So be it."

"W-What? But…James!"

Jodie's protest was ignored. Black eyes still fixed the young detective before him, whose eyes suddenly regained their former, long-forgotten shine.

"You can look, but you can't touch, Shinichi. Tracy shall prepare everything for you." Black sighed, knowing that even his harsh reminder wouldn't dampen Shinichi's joy much.

As if he didn't know.

He knew that just too well. A smile showed appeared underneath Black's mustache.

"Well then…good luck."

Grinning gratefully, Shinichi collected his things from the floor, leaving the room with a short nod to James and Jodie.

XXX

"Darn it, James! You can't be serious! After everything the boy has been through, you still expect him to put up with such a relapse? You know very well that he still has feelings for her! How do you expect him to hold back? You're sending him into the lion's den!"

"Jodie, I know."

"You- What?!" Her voice became shrill; James' calm words had ripped her out of her tantrum and forced her to take a deep breath.

"You _knew_? But then why, for goodness' sake, did you make such a decision?"

"You know him, Jodie; he would have taken this flight either way. We can't afford to let him do things on his own. He has proven his tenacity to us in the past, and I'd rather be there to help Shinichi out of this mess than sit here, wringing my hands."

"Do you believe that this will go well?" She skeptically looked down to James, recognized the hidden tension when he steepled his fingertips together, but his voice didn't give it away in the slightest.

"No."

"But why-"

With a soft cough to clear his throat Black put himself up from behind his desk, placing his hands on the wooden board to steady them.

"Because he deserves it, Jodie. He needs to know that there's still something worth fighting for. I think he needs this trip now to renew his memories, before he forgets who he truly is behind all those masks… and who's waiting for him."

She gasped, biting her lips. The thought alone tugged at her heartstrings, but she needed to voice her fears.

"What if… I doubt that she's still waiting, not for him."

"She will wait."

His voice was emotionless as always, but his words somehow seemed icy. Jodie turned around to Akai, who still stood in the doorframe, fingering his lighter. Jodie and Black exchanged a short look, both of them could feel the slight burning underneath their skin caused by the memories of the fire. None of them said anything; they know that he would keep on talking in his own time.

"She'll wait. Don't forget that Ran never quite believed us. She'll wait for him, just like he's waiting for her. However…" He paused, finally lighting his cigarette, so that his next words were accompanied by a wisp of smoke, "However, I don't know if he still deserves her."

James' lips narrowed. The relationship between Shinichi and Akai that was once so good now seemed to be entirely destroyed, after the incident back then. She had been the only one who was left. It was her he wanted to take care of, because his love would have asked for it.

Shiho had been important to her…just because of her little sister, she had compromised her life, a game she had lost in the end. He wanted find some sense of purpose in her death… and that had led to her little sister. With her death, this purpose had been lost as well, leaving behind only

thoughts of revenge, a feeling which was slowly poisoning his soul.

He had never forgiven him…

Shinichi should have been protecting her, just like he had promised.

At first the words of the confused boy hasn't made any sense at all. He had mumbled to himself again and again that he had failed not making sense at all until Kudo finally confessed what happened.

Akai could never accept that, just like Shinichi could never forgive himself.

They resembled each other in things like that far too much…

"But what if he blurts it out and the whole thing gets busted? Furthermore, you know that there are things we needed to do the boy doesn't know about… His reaction to it won't make him any easier for us to handle." Akai's disapproving tone yanked Black from his thoughts, his eyes drifted to his agent, holding his gaze for a short while until he finally answered.

"That might be true, but it will not be the case… you'll keep an eye on him after all."

"What?" Black smiled at Jodie's blatant perplexion.

"You've heard me. You and Akai will fly after him to keep him in sight." A sneaky grin tugged at the edges of his mustache.

"Just like it used to be."

Jodie crossed her arms skeptically, she wasn't against a trip to Japan, but she didn't like the matter not in the still had a bad feeling about this all, and that never failed her in the past.

Like expected, Akai wasn't showing any enthusiasm either, his grumpy grunt was ignored by Black and taken as a sign of assent by their boss.

After both of them left his office, with the orders to organize everything; silence flooded the room.

James' grey eyes bored invisible holes in the closed door.

No, he didn't have a good feeling in this, not at all.

But just like he had told Jodie, Shinichi needed to go now… despite the danger this trip held. The annoying voice inside his mind still told him that it would be the right thing to do. Using Shinichi as a lure was not an issue, but maybe… just maybe, this journey would cause some change. Maybe they finally could blow off some of this dark dust which had covered their traces over the time.

It was atypical for the detective to make such decisions, since his life was oriented for _their_ safety, if nothing else. But in this case, there seemed to be louder voices that the one of his mind. He massaged his forehead tiredly.

'Shinichi… there is more about it than just seeing her face again, to remember her again. It's not about looking into her eyes again, but about looking into your own, after all this years. If you're willing to take this risk, I must take it too… for better or worse, Mr. Holmes. But unlike you, I know that this journey will also show you everything you've lost."

XXX

He was glad that he still had stashed enough clothes here to start packing his bags, but the anticipation had faded as fast as it began. The fast, certain moves and the hastily folded shirts to get everything ready as soon as possible had slowed down with every article of clothing, until the folding of his pullover turned to be a time-consuming origami, before his hands stopped moving completely.

What the hell was he even doing?

Shinichi's throat grew dry as he looked into his open suitcase.

These weren't even his clothes.

They belonged to Bell.

And it was William Bell, who would return to Japan, not Kudo Shinichi.

James' words had put him back in place.

" _You can look but you can't touch, Shinichi…"_

Of course, he was still happy that he might be able to see her, to make sure that they were alive, and he was thankful that Black approved his request – but little by little he started to understand what all this really meant

He would see how she lived, living a life, which he should be part of… which he wished to take a part in.

Shinichi bit his lips, the thought of Ran left his heart racing, he hoped that he would be able to see her again, only getting a glimpse of her. But it was this very though, which cornered his mind… which scared him.

He was scared of what he might see.

XXX

"How does this man think that's going to work?! Preparing everything for two weeks within just one night? You bet you're going to help me, Shinichi! I won't be working on them all night all by myself, you-"

However, the woman with the upset voice stopped herself mute in the door fame when she saw him. How long had the boy with the half folded pullover on his lap been sitting like that, she could only guess; but the sight revealed to Tracy that his thoughts were long gone from this room, or country. Her neatly polished nails dug themselves into the wooden frame of his room.

She had not seen him sitting here like this for a long time now. The expression on the face of the high schooler used to be his trademark back then, when he'd just moved in this little room of the FBI headquarters ten years ago. Tracy knew that he hasn't seen her yet, if he knew about her presence, he would have assumed his false smile, which any actor would be jealous about.

Shinichi never wanted to be seen like this.

His blue eyes had lost their light, staring motionlessly on an invisible spot on the floor; it looked like someone just sucked the life out of his body. Tracy didn't know if it was really because of his ego that he behaved like this, or if the detective was just trying to shelter everyone from himself and his problems.

She sighed in silence, looking at him sadly until she cautiously moved towards him. But even after she sat beside him, he just noticed her when she finally began to speak.

"Shouldn't you be happy, Shinichi?"

The addressed jerked from his thoughts, looking at the woman beside him with wide, startled eyes; he hasn't heard her coming. Now he stared at her in surprise, he didn't quite know what he was supposed to say, but Tracy didn't urge him to say anything.

Shinichi thoughtfully looked at her; she looked flawless, as always. Her deep brown pullover reached her knees and was held with a belt around her waist, her feet were sporting her favorite pumps, which she had a love-hate relationship with. Save for a few strands, which snuck out of the arrangement, her black hair was held back in a decent knot.

Shinichi tried to hold her gaze; he wanted to know how this woman had been able to read his mind again.

She just knew him too well by now.

There was no use in trying to fool her.

He sighed, nervously kneading his lap.

"I still don't know what I'm supposed to do in Japan…" His voice was small.

He didn't look up after his confession, so he didn't see the way Tracy's eyebrows rose.

"Well, as far as I've heard, you should go and solve a case there, Shinichi,"

The pretended ignorance in her voice didn't fail. She already knew what was weighing heavily on his mind, and it was mean and sneaky of her to play dumb. But if there was something the boy still has to learn, it was that he had to speak about what was bothering him; not everyone would make it that easy for him.

"No… I mean, yes. William Bell will fly to Japan to solve the case. But what…what is Kudo Shinichi supposed to do there?" His voice broke as he uttered his own name, which he only barely used these days.

She shot him a forceful look, taking a deep breath before she spoke in an ostensibly calm manner.

"You are supposed to convince yourself that you're not doing all this for nothing, Shinichi. I think that's the very reason our sentimental Englishman is allowing you to fly; even if he would never admit it." She winked, but the desired smile on the lips of her charge never appeared.

"That is… if you still aim to destroy the organization to return to her?"

"Heck, of course it is!" She didn't even twitch at the angry glare he gave her, because it was just the reaction she had expected to trigger.

"It's not like I'm not looking forward to this travel but…"

"But?"

She didn't need to persist any longer; his eyes had already betrayed him even if he tried to hide it by looking away from her, and his suddenly white knuckles of his fists spoke volumes.

He was thinking of her.

Shinichi was scared and at the same time incredible angry at himself that he was even asking this question, and angrier that he still didn't have an answer to it.

He didn't know what he wanted.

He didn't know, for crying out loud!

To see that Ran was hurting but still waiting for him… or to know that she found happiness in the arms of someone else; both ideas ripped his heart into pieces.

Shinichi swallowed, rubbing his neck tiredly.

She should be happy, that was what he wanted for her and what he wished for her- the very reason he was doing all this.

She should be happy.

But if that's all he wanted why wasn't he able to be happy for her as well.

Why couldn't he accept the thought of her being happy _without him?_

Why?

He despised himself for having these feelings that prevented him from letting her go. He was living hundreds of miles away from her now, in the belief that he was doing the right thing and with the hope that Ran, his Ran would be finally able to forget him.

But the truth was different; he would never destroy her happiness, and yet he couldn't let her go entirely.

The fact that he kept himself away and hidden from her, was nothing more than hypocrisy. A well-practiced play, which could deceive even the most suspicious, just to avoid thinking of her in that way; to keep the pain away.

He was an abject coward, and nothing more.

"You love her."

Shinichi looked up in surprise when he recognized Tracy's voice. Her deep brown eyes looked right into his heart and he asked himself once more how this woman could read his thoughts. She brushed a strand from his hair away from his face, her voice held a soft, warm and melodic tone when she spoke again.

"You love her, Shinichi… that doesn't make you a bad person, do you hear me? You must never forget that!"

"I'm not supposed to be jealous now, am I?"

Both of them looked up, when they heard the male voice at the door. The brown checkered shirt, the hair that disobeyed his will as usual; it was likely that Stuart had surrendered in his fight with his hair brush long ago, letting the bristly hair win. But his chaotic appearance wasn't able to dim the smile which flashed from beneath the three-day stubble.

"Here you go, I think that should be enough." He shook the little glass bottle, which held hundreds of the little devices Bell owed his voice too.

"If you don't end up eating them like cereal for breakfast, they should easily last for about two weeks." Shinichi smiled thankfully, watched as the inventor put them on the little desk in his room.

"Thanks, Stu. I'm sure Professor Agasa would be thrilled."

"Nah!" He rubbed his slightly grey temples in embarrassment, he was still fascinated by the work of the Japanese inventor, so that he couldn't keep his next question to himself.

"Say, Shinichi… I know that you're not allowed to tell them, but what if your old friend would find one of my business cards in his mailbox, just by accident of course. I mean, we could-"

"Stuart Davis!"

He winced at Tracy's hard tone.

"You'll not put another bee in the boy's bonnet! We should be glad that he didn't come up with the idea all by himself after all these years under your bad influence. And anyway…"

She took a long breath, crossing her arms in front of her chest and looked away, sulking.

"That's not fair! I'm in store for a night shift and you walk in here with a whole colony of these- these _things_!" She looked at the little bottle with the "things" in spite. But Stu was not easy to be intimidated by his future wife.

"Scheduling and quality means everything, my dear, you know that."

"What?!"

She downright spat the scornful answer, tapping the floor sharply with the tip of her black pumps. She was PISSED OFF.

"'Scheduling and quality' my ass! The invention was not even your idea to begin with, so stop strutting around in borrowed plumes. And besides…" Shinichi observed the argument with a smile; he'd stopped intervening ages ago. The best proof that his intervention wasn't necessary shone golden on Tracy's ring finger for about a month now. The newly engaged couple had taken care of him the most, after Black. Sure, they both had been flabbergasted when they heard of his secret, but it didn't take long until they had aligned themselves with the little boy who had been roaming around in the FBI headquarter, annoying a few of their colleagues.

Tracy had been the first who got informed, being the leading chemist of the agency. It was her job to see if she could somehow get some information's about the APTX, with her knowledge and countless blood tests which Shinichi remembered only a little too well.

She couldn't give him his old life back, so she helped him by creating a new one. She wasn't able to accomplish a working antidote, so she tried to make up with William Bell. It had been the idea of the amateur-actress to bring the fictive author alive with the help of some silicon, makeup and dexterity. That's how he had been able to get out of the FBI's strong hold, to change his residence as the little mascot of the agency into his own apartment, to gain some privacy in the maze of rules and laws.

First of all, they had helped him build up his little wall of work behind which he could hide his deeper and darker thoughts. They had given him countless books and case files, taught him, and ask their coworkers to do the same. It was just because of them that he could live a life as William Bell outside the walls of the FBI. Tracy had desperately tried to show him how he could make his masks himself, but he'd always failed miserably dealing with the liquid latex and makeup.

Shinichi noticed that his fingers had nervously twisted in his lap the whole time before he finally looked up to the two, who were still having their tiff.

"Thank you."

The simple words made them stop; the adults exchanged a silent look. Tracy nervously played with her olive-green pearl necklace, while Stuart awkwardly fiddled his shirt back in his trouser.

The tension in the room grew. Shinichi knew that they were worried about him and what lay in store for him on this trip. It wasn't easy for them to let him go.

But instead of trying to convince him to stay or warn him about what could happen, Stu just waved his hand touched, while Tracy shook her head with a hint of red on her cheeks as well.

"Don't worry Shinichi, pack what you need and go to sleep. Tomorrow is going to be stressful enough. Besides, I do have an assistant now." A wide grin joined her words, she held on onto her fiancée's arm, who raised her eyebrows at this statement.

"And who might that be, Tracy?"

"Well, of course it's you, my dear." She teased with a snicker while looking into his blue eyes while she spoke, "Remember how you told us that you're he's free for tonight since you're the master of quality and scheduling?"

"What? B-But you know I'm not good with this stuff, Tracy! If I'm supposed to work with it, I can create you Frankenstein's monster, but there will be no more similarity with a human."

"Ah, don't worry, we'll find something for you to do." Tracy took her leave with a broad smile, pulling Stu with her. Shinichi could read a desperate "help" from his lips until they left the room. Shinichi stayed alone, shaking his head with a smile while the playfully-arguing couple slowly quieted down in the distance.

He was thankful that Stuart was taking his place by being Tracy's assistant, not just because he still need to pack his stuff but mostly because he didn't like to linger around in Tracy's little "workshop." Putting together Bell's face piece by piece had always been more of a horror show than an art.

Shinichi finally stood up, putting his pullover in his bag, which he had held the whole time. Tracy's words preyed on his mind.

" _You love her Shinichi… that doesn't make you a bad person."_

'But what if she's wrong? What if that is the problem…?'

XXX

She still held his hand as they walked in the dim corridors. Stuart could hear her uneasy breath beside him, showing her tension. She felt like the boy's parent, they both did.

"Do you think he knows what he's getting himself into?"

Stuart bit his lips, looking at his significant other. Tracy'd stopped walking; he watched how she tilted her head back, looking at the dim white ceiling light.

"I doubt it," he said finally. She shook her head in sadness, forgetting about the state ofher bun, which was not as pristine as it'd started out.

"I believe he's just thinking about what damage he could cause…or rather what damage he had done. I don't think that he's aware of the danger he's getting himself into. And even if he knows, I think he couldn't care less…" Her gaze got lost on the floor.

"That's unfair. What has he done to go through such torture? It isn't fair." She wrestled herself out of his grip; shuddering and the hugging herself to protect herself from the invisible cold.

Stuart could only empathize with the tormented thoughts of his fiancée, she was right after all.

The stamina of Kudo Shinichi had fascinated him since the day they met. When he had heard the story of the strange poison, he didn't believe it until he met the little boy, who wasn't a little boy at all. It was a riddle for him how Shinichi was able to keep sane all this time, living through his second childhood in the heart of the FBI without a single whine, making sure no one knew just how horrible it must be for him. Just now, everyone had the opportunity to get to know the high schooler who had been introduced as a seven-year-old back then. Looking at Shinichi had always like watching a race between him and time itself, the boy was on its heels but never able to catch up.

No matter how hard he tried, he could not win.

Nevertheless, it was getting more dangerous for the detective as time passed. He was ready to anything to finally attain his goal. The cost that it may incur didn't matter to him anymore. And that was exactly what was bothering Stuart Davis right now. He swallowed, turning around to his better half, who seemed to be thinking along the same lines. Slowly he took a step towards her until Tracy could feel his warm arm around her shoulder, but his words weren't able to give her comfort.

"Shinichi will do it. But you'll see, everything will be alright." She looked up, stroking his stubbly chin with the back of her hand, but fear still dominated her brown eyes.

"I hope you're right… I really hope so."

* * *

 _ **Hey there!**_

 _ **First of all, thanks for your nice response to the last chapter and of course to my little Sherlock and Conan crossover, I never hoped for such an amazing reaction to it! So I´ll try to make a few more one shots with the two of them, but before I´ll make it a complete story my focus is on "Lost in Time" for now.**_

 _ **I hope you enjoyed the chapter!**_

 _ **Big thanks to my amazing beta's Taliya and WinchestersOf221B !**_

 _ **I would love to hear your thoughts about the chapter!**_

 _ **Till next time!**_

 _ **Shelling ~**_


	4. 3 To meet again

**To meet again**

 _She enjoyed the warm red of the morning dawn despite the heavy clouds, which hovered dangerously above Tokyo. The sun ruled over the sky, bathing it in a rich pink light._

 _The sun was rising earlier these days, the rays warming her skin so softly that she stopped for a while, taking a deep breath of the fresh and damp air until she resumed her way to work. They would get a new delivery, which she would have to sort. A soft sigh escaped her lips. It was not what she had imagined for her life, not in the slightest. The work in the little grocery store had nothing to do with her intended study._

 _But she would not complain about it, and instead try to make the best of what she got. She was thankful, after all, that someone had made it possible for her to live a life in which he had feared she had destroyed forever. While she walked along the well-known path, bright, childish laughter suddenly caught her ear. Looking up, she saw a small boy holding hands with his mother, who probably walked daily him to school. She watched both of them for a few seconds with a slight smile; she was happy for the image, which made her way a little brighter. Her path lead her along the rails of the subway, which traveled above the surface here. She shivered; she could still hear the laughter of the little one far behind her, but did not really take notice of it._

 _She had wanted to take another path this morning, to be honest._

 _She had avoided this route beginning a few days ago, and had taken a longer, more indirect route instead. That oppressive feeling, which had been following her every time she had walked beside these rails had forced her to._

 _Fear._

 _Superstition._

 _Unease._

 _Illusion._

 _Back then, she would have told herself that that was just it, following her logic instead. But the past ten years had robbed her of her securities. She had learned to trust in the silent warnings of her soul, to listen to her instinct, which warned her away from the darkness that lurked in the shadows._

 _But she did not have a choice today._

 _She had overslept, and could not afford to be late. The only way had been to take her normal route as a shortcut._

 _She could feel how her heart began beating faster and faster; she did not see the fragile little snowdrops that had fought through the hard ground beside the rails to reach for the sun. The gravel crunched beneath her feet, and she had to hold herself back from running—until finally a well-known light lit up before her eyes. The subway rushed towards her, and with it_ he _usually came along with easy grace on his bicycle._

 _Before she began taking the other way to work, she and the postman would meet each morning. She would greet him shortly, much like he had. The short greeting had gradually grown into longer talks, until he had eventually found the heart to ask her out for a coffee with bright red cheeks._

 _The rushing beat of her heart had another reason now. A sheepish smile crossed her lips, and the warm feeling had led her right towards him. She waited for him, and felt how the cold angst of her loneliness was swallowed by her joy of their reunion._

 _She slowly passed the distance between them until she could finally see his face, waiting to see his smile again._

 _But this time, he failed to appear._

 _She still waited, smiling in hope that he would not be offended because she had changed her way to work, but what she saw in his face was not anger at all._

 _It was panic._

 _Fear covered his face like a giant scar, and while he gesticulated furiously with his free hand, his handlebars wavered dangerously due to his movements. She could see that he was speaking, but the rushing of the passing train swallowed his words._

 _He looked at her as though he was staring at death itself in the eye._

 _Her heart immediately stopped._

' _No!'_

 _She had been careless._

 _The subway rushed by; she wanted to turn around but the shot came in that very moment._

 _The report was engulfed within the rattle of the train. She did not feel how her body hit the ground. She did not recognize his shouts, did not hear him coming, and did not see how the little snowdrops were flecked with red._

XXX

His homeland had closed the doors before of him.

Thick, dark clouds above the city did not allow Shinichi even the slightest peek at Tokyo, marring the long-yearned-for reunion.

'Thanks for that!'

He closed the sunblind of the rounded window of the plane in annoyance. He had set his clock ahead about two hours long ago, had changed the date as well so that he had nothing more to do than to wait for the landing. Shinichi's gaze wandered to his seatmate; for three whole hours this guy had been snoring so hard his ear hurt, and now the clouds blocked his view to distract himself from this foghorn of a monster beside him. Instead, he fidgeted in his seat, bored to death, as he polished his glasses, which he had made Bell's accessory without realizing that he would have to wear it himself sometimes.

When the display to fasten his seatbelt had begun to blink about a minute ago and the after-thirteen-hours-still-too-friendly stewardess had taken away the rest of his lunch, he had hoped to finally get a glimpse on Tokyo. And yet the dark grey in which the plane seemed to drown in spoke only of the coming rain.

XXX

The fact that he was back in Japan crashed over him at the gate. That queasy feeling, which had grown in his stomach during the landing, had gone as fast as the fear when one was riding up the roller coaster until it threw itself into the deep, so that you could not feel anything besides the pounding of your heart.

Shinichi gasped for breath, simply overwhelmed.

A Japanese announcement echoed through the great hall, indeciperable in any US airport—or the rest of the world, for that matter—but unmistakably Japanese. Familiar kana and kanji characters announced the next flight alongside English words. The Japanese language dominated the multicultural jumble, and after the exiting the check out, Shinichi even thought he smelled a whiff of Japanese food.

Japan.

He was at home.

'Home.'

Shinichi wandered through the crowd as though in trance; he looked around and registered every sound, every word, and every little detail that showed him where he was. To hear his native language again after such a long time was a pleasure, and yet the uneasy feeling in his gut as he listened to the passing crowd would not fade. It was like meeting an old friend who had not changed on the outside, but still felt like a complete stranger.

His hands clenched around the handle of the baggage car; the third wheel was askew, making it wobble over the floor. He had pulled his bags from the belt in a hurry, before someone would notice the three big cases he carried around with him.

He could feel how the sweat had begun to cover his forehead behind the layer of silicon by the time he finally left the terminal. A wild crowd seemed to welcome him at the exit; they shouted various names when he passed the frosted glass, but when he stepped into the open for them to see that he was not the person they were waiting for the cheering stopped. Disappointment and regret flashed over the faces of the waiting people until their gazes wandered back to the exit, in the hope that the next one passing through would be the one they had been waiting for.

While Shinichi searched the barrier along the exit, he let his eyes drift along the assembled welcome committee. Families, friends possibly, holding up signs with different names, or waiting for the passengers with only a wide smile. His eyes darkened when he looked into the joyful and hopeful eyes. Even now, he still doubted what he was even doing here—why he had returned to this place, when he cowardly had turned his back to so many years ago?

'Tss… I guess it's true, the culprit always comes back to the crime scene.'

Shinichi swallowed, nervously pushed his glasses back while he tried to hide his cynical smile when a young Japanese woman caught his eye; she seemed intent on walking right upon him. He paused in wonder, did not really know how to react, but the question was taken from him because instead of closing the distance between them, she turned at the last second. Her friendly smile shone as she spread arms in a welcome which was not meant for him in the first place, but for the young man behind him, who had stepped out behind from the frosted glass with a bunch of roses in his hands.

The hastily clicking of her black pumps on the well-trod tile became silent the moment the young women found herself in the arms of her beloved, who returned her feelings. Her soft black hair fell on his shoulder as his travelling pack was not able to hold on against her rush and fell carelessly to the floor. Only the roses had survived, if just barely, before their lips met. Only the silent rain of rose petals accompanied their kiss.

"I guess you would rather have preferred such a welcome instead of an old pathologist who'll only shake your hand? Am I right Professor Bell?" Startled, Shinichi turned around to the man by his side, who now observed the same couple with a soft smile.

He pushed his glasses back in embarrassment, trying to ignore the bitter taste on his tongue as best as he could. "Matzudo-sensei I assume?" Shinichi swallowed shortly when he heard how Bell's voice vocalized the Japanese sentence, but tried to carry on without attracting too much attention. "What gave me away, Doctor?"

The lips of the old pathologist formed a grin; his voice held a slight lecturing tone without being arrogant. "Mhm… I don't know, perhaps it was the longing in your eyes or the slightly hurt expression of yours?"

"Uhm, well…" Shinichi could feel heat flushing in his cheeks, and was once more thankful that Bell's features did not share this weakness. "I rather meant how you knew how I was the one you were looking for? It would be news to me that I've been running around wearing a name tag."

"No, nothing like that." Finally, the man turned to Shinichi so that he could have a better look on him. He immediately registered the watchful green eyes, which did not gave away his age, unlike the winkles that had carved themselves into his skin. He guessed the man to be about forty-five years old, maybe even a little older. If Matzudo suspected what was going on in Bell's head, he paid no heed and instead answered his question with a smile.

"While it's true that you don't wear a name tag around your neck, Bell-sensei, your appearance and behavior revealed enough about your person to pick you from the crowd."

"How so?" Bell eyed him curiously as the doctor spoke further.

"The first thing I noticed was your luggage; it's too much for a simple businessman, but for a tourist you're not dazed enough to be in a strange place. The isolated silver suitcase, however, told me that you're travelling with some sort of working material. Furthermore, it seems like you're still wearing the same trousers that you wore to your last lesson as well. On the right side of your leg some chalk is still visible, which lends to a job as some sort of teacher. The New York Times which you stowed beneath your arm as an accessory told me that you're interested in the actual case here in Tokyo, since I don't believe that the handwriting beside the article are just simple scratches. You see, it really wasn't hard to guess who you are, Professor."

Shinichi swallowed; he tried to hold his smile but he could feel the little hairs on his neck standing upright. He did not like the thought that this man could see through him so easily. His analytical procedure, however, seemed familiar and the wide smile that showed the whiteness of the doctor's teeth told him he was correct in his suspicions.

"It seems you saw right through me, Doctor, just like Holmes right? I only wonder what I'm doing here when I've an expert right in front of me?"

"Well not really. I confess that I have read a few of Doyle's work, but I'm far from being an expert—neither about Holmes nor about his methods." With a cheeky grin, he tugged out a picture from his blue jeans, on which Bell's face gazed outwards towards him. The doctor smiled sheepishly while he put the photo back in his pocket. "When you know what you're searching for, it's easy to look for the details as well."

Shinichi nodded with a relived smile. "That's right, but we'll see how helpful my knowledge in this case will be." Shinichi had lowered his voice a little, but Matzudo immediately noticed that the conversation had gone back to the real reason of Bell's stay here in Tokyo.

"And I fear that the situation has become more grave than you think, Bell-sensei… sadly." Bell's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"Do you have new information about the case.?"

"No, that's not it." He sadly shook his head.

"But?"

"We have a second victim."

XXX

The murder had taken place only a few hours ago. The victim was a middle-aged woman, Matzudo explained to him. The deed had happened in Beika again, he told Bell as they put his luggage in the back of the silver Ford. The pathologist had already been at the crime scene, but the homicide squad was probably still there. The murder had not used the same weapon, because this time the woman had been killed with a clear shot through the head.

Shinichi listened to the report of the pathologist only with one ear. He could not prevent his thoughts from drifting as they drove through his former home. Memories displayed themselves in his mind, but they were suppressed by the bitter knowledge that he technically should not be here. Shinichi swallowed, and carelessly rubbed his forehead in thought. The two ideas fought in his head while he was flung around from side to side as a result of the turmoil.

Matzudo seemed to notice the silence of his companion, when only the dull clicking sound of the turnindicator was to be heard. He stopped speaking and observed the man at his side, whose gaze was frozen on the streets and buildings of Tokyo. His eyes were far too foggy for the view of a simple visitor. His old friend York was right; something was wrong with this guy. With a short cough, he fought for the attention of his co-driver.

"I could, of course, take you to your quarters first, Professor. I can understand that after your long travel you might want to—"

"Uh?" He started as Matzudo ripped from his trance, cursed himself for not holding his thoughts at bay, and began to reconstruct what the doctor said.

"No! No, it's alright. I would prefer to see the crime scene first before the tracks go cold." Matzudo nodded in acknowledgement as he turned onto the next street.

"I thought so. I went ahead and informed the police of your arrival.—even if I have to say that not everyone is entirely pleased about your help." Shinichi swallowed, but tried an understanding smile.

"Little wonder, as I believe that no one likes it when some stranger meddles with the matters of another."

"Hmm…" was all he said, and instead Matzudo drummed with his fingers on the leather steering wheel. Shinichi watched the long fingers and slender hands, unable to believe that this man used them most of the time to rummage through the innards of corpses.

"I have to say—" The doctor used the short minute he paused to let some people cross the street to look Shinichi in the eyes while he spoke. "Your Japanese is much better than I had hoped for! Even your accent barely exists."

"W-What?" He looked, startled, at Matzudo, who just registered the professor's cornered expression before he put the car in first gear to move on. Shinichi sat there, rigid with anxiety in his seat. He could feel little sweat drops forming behind his mask. If he could not pull himself together soon, the sweat would start itching unbearably.

'Damn it!'

A shudder ran down his spine.

 _That_ had started well. He cursed himself in silence and stole a short glance at Matzudo, who seemed to have focused back on the afternoon traffic.

How could he be so stupid!

Tracy had told him not to act too differently, but to speak without any American accent—what fool would have forgotten that?

'Crap.'

Well it was definitely too late to adjust his language now, that would be much too obvious. He really needed to make something up. When even the pathologist who he had only known for a few minutes had to have grown suspicious by now, he could not allow himself another such mistake near someone else.

"I must confess, I'm surprised myself," he confessed after a while. "The two years in Japan seemed to have paid off now. Maybe that will give me some bonus points with my colleagues in the Japanese police." Shinichi really hoped that his smile did not look as terrible and unreal as it felt, while he waited for Matzudo's reaction. The bushy eyebrows of the doctor knitted together before his face lit up again.

"I do hope so, Bell-sensei. But I think—especially Megure—will be pleased about that, since his English isn't the best. I'm sure he already had a stomachache forming at the mere thought of how to talk to you."

"Megure?"

"Yeah, Megure-keishi, he himself took the case. What is it? Do you know him?" He looked into the blank face of the American professor in confusion. It seemed almost too easy to baffle someone like him, who was a criminalist.

'Superintendent.'

Here was the first bit of evidence of the changes that had taken place while he was gone. Shinichi did not notice how his throat had suddenly gone dry until he answered. "I… It could be that I've read his name in the newspaper before." The sentence came out of his mouth automatically. Shinichi had long stopped wondering when lying had become that easy for him, since these lies had accompanied him for over ten years of his life now.

Matzudo did not seem to know what was taking place behind Bell's forehead; he only stopped at another traffic light—what seemed to be the hundredth today.

"I guess he and his men should still be there, so that they can explain the details of the case to you."

Shinichi nodded, his gaze drifting back into the distance.

'I may as well expect the worst.'

XXX

The black and yellow tape of the crime scene cluttered in the wind, sealing off the whole area to keep both the press and curious gazers away. The pavement betrayed his arrival, and the uneasy feeling in his stomach grew as he walked beside Matzudo, who was heading for the makeshift border.

Two officers had the dubiously honorable task of guarding the crime scene. Their bored faces showed the effort it took to complete their work. Matzudo had parked his car between the police vehicles, and he nodded to the officers when they crossed over to unpaved path beside the tracks. The gravel crunched beneath his shoes, and Shinichi felt like he was being sent to the block—when he ducked beneath the tape it felt as though the ax would fall down at any second. He swallowed, closed his eyes, and took a long breath before his gaze fixed itself on the grey mountain that appeared before them.

'That's it… all or nothing.'

He headed up to the bulky figure in the trench coat and hat; the huge man did not need to turn around for Shinichi to recognize who he was.

"Damn it Kikuja!"

The lanky officer twitched when he heard his name.

"Would you kindly find out how that could have happened and finally do something so that this man will calm down?!" But instead of following his boss' instructions, he peeked over Megure's shoulder to Dr. Matzudo and his companion. Kikuja's gelled hair seemed to hold perfectly against the building spring storm, which announced itself with a rumble over Tokyo. The question of what the young police officer had smeared upon his head did not arise for Shinichi; it could only be a mixture of paste and super glue, to make such a concrete-like hairstyle.

It seemed like Shinichi was not the only one who recognized that Kikuja's eyes wavered between him and Megure, because as though on command, Matzudo stopped and waited together with Bell for a reaction from the superintendent.

"What are you waiting for Kijuja?! Didn't I tell you—"

"Ye-yes, but Superintendent, you should know… I mean, maybe you should…" With clumsy movements he tried to explain his stuttering, pointing over Megure's shoulder, and _that_ finally managed to make his chief reluctantly turn around.

Shinichi could feel the adrenaline quicken his pulse when Megure turned to them after a short nod to Kikuja. He could see the short, disapproving twitch of the bushy eyebrows when Megure moved to him after he greeted the pathologist.

Inevitably, he bit his lips; he felt Megure's eyes upon him, scanning him, while he could not turn away his gaze from his old friend, either. His hairline had faded further underneath his hat, searching for the safety of Megure's constant companion. A few new winkles had found their way onto his face, and the magnificent mustache that still rested beneath his nose was streaked with silver—which helped to further change his appearance. A small shudder ran down his back when he saw the familiar features beneath the change of the past ten years. A part of him was truly happy to see his old friend after such a long time, but Megure's words put a damper on it immediately.

"Professor Bell, I assume?"

Megure's voice brought Shinichi back to reality; the words were spoken in the business-like tone of a officer who spoke to some sort of stranger at the crime scene.

 _A stranger._

That was what he was now, and he would be nothing else for everyone involved. He was just a stranger who happened to stick his nose into things that he should not be meddling with.

He swallowed the lump that had made itself comfortable in his throat.

'At least I can see if they are alright.' But his silent mantra could not push the queasy feeling in his stomach away. The happiness of his reunions would be one sided, no matter who he was going to meet. But was that not what he wanted? They should not recognize him, after all—if they did, then all of his work would have been for nothing. Shinichi just realized that he had been staring at the hand of the superintendent all this time until he snapped himself out of his stare to finally shake his hand.

"Nice to meet you, Bell-sensei." If Megure had seen the hesitation of the American, he hid it well, instead presenting Shinichi an obliging nod. Shinichi took a short breath, as though he had passed examination for now. Why had he been nervous? It was impossible for them to recognize him behind this mask, after all.

" _ **Uh, I mean—My name is Megure. M-E-G-U-R-E."**_

"Mhm?"

Shinichi looked at him in surprise when the superintendent suddenly switched from Japanese to stuttering English. Matzudo burst out laughing, which earned him an angry glare from Megure, whose face was slowly turning red.

"Spare yourself of these well intended efforts, Megure, I've already established that our guest is better versed in Japanese than we had hoped for. So you can stop rooting through your dusty vocabulary list. Isn't that right, Professor?"

"Sure… of course, that shouldn't be a problem," Bell confirmed with a short smile to Megure, who turned to Matzudo—presumably to ask why the pathologist had not toled him about that sooner, or if he just wanted to listen to just how bad his boss' English really was.

Shinichi watched both and tried to get rid of that longing feeling when he saw the familiarity of their quarrel. He was a stranger to them, an intruder in this case, even. He swallowed. Shinichi could feel the wind tugging at his wig. He was not a child anymore, finally back to an age that someone would listen to him even without his mask, but the way Megure talked to him made it clear that he was not home.

It was not _him_ who was back in Japan… Shinichi Kudo did not exist.

If anything it was Conan, who was playing a prank on Megure—a bad one to be exact.

William Bell was here to help out with a case, but instead of finally getting into the investigations, he was standing around, starring at his old friend, a part of his past… which probably would not be in his future any time soon. Damn it, he needed to step out from his glass prison to finally focus on the case.

"The case."

Both men turned to stare at him in surprise; they did not know if he had been talking to himself or if he had really addressed them.

"The case, Megure-keib—keishi. Could you please explain to me what happened and how the investigation stands right now?"

"Of course." With a short cough, he turned to Bell. Shinichi needed to admit that, even if he knew that Megure did not like him being here, he tried not to show it too much and was fair enough to show him around, even if his stern gaze never left his skin.

"I don't think that I have to explain to you, Professor, that we need to handle this case with care. The press is on our heels already, and we need to avoid leaking any more information to the public."

Bell nodded, pushing his glasses back in place. "I understand."

"Mhm… fine, well then come along with me, I'll show you the crime scene."

"Just a second, Bell-sensei!"

"Yes, what is it, Doctor?" Shinichi turned to Matzudo in surprise, and the man put a paper and a key in his hands before he could say anything.

"We—York and myself that is—thought that it would be best to accommodate you at my place. But don't worry, you don't have to camp on my sofa for the next weeks," the doctor assured Bell when he saw the slight twitching in his face.

"There is a small guesthouse on my property; you've got the key and address in your hand. You can find me at the university nearby if I'm not home. I would love to bring you home myself, but my work here is done. I'm of more use in the quiet walls of a lab than out in the open." Shinichi only bit his lip as an answer to the nice offer.

'What now?' It was impossible to keep Bell's identity a secret from the pathologist like that. Shinichi swallowed when he looked down to the key in his hand. 'Useless…'

Maybe there still was a chance.

"No problem, Doctor. I'm sure I'll find my way with a local taxi. And in case I lose the key, I'll just knock on your door." The teasing tone seemed to do it. Matzudo laughed but answered in a somewhat pleading tone.

"Well, I hope that you don't lose it, since we'll both standing in front of closed doors then. I only have one key to the guesthouse, so you better take good care of it."

'Bingo!' Relieved that he could hide his true face behind a closed door ,he nodded thankfully. "If that's the case doctor, I'll guard it like gold. Thank you! I hope I won't cause you too much trouble."

"Of course not. I only hope that you're able to solve this crime. See you later; so long Megure." With a short wink, the pathologist dismissed himself.

"Very well, Professor, if you follow me please."

"Sure, but please, Superintendent, no titles please. Bell is perfectly fine." Megure mirrored Shinichi's smile just for a second, but first try to build up some trust between them did not seem to work yet.

"Fine, so follow me Bell-san." Shinichi walked beside Megure with long steps while the stouter man showed him around the crime scene. Despite the fact that the Insp—Superintendent was not amused at someone peeking into his investigation, he let him in on all the facts and details of the investigation.

"Our victim is a woman, about thirty years old. As far as we know, she probably was on her way to work until—has Matzudo already told you how the murder happened?"

Bell nodded roughly. "He told me that she was a shot through the head."

"That's right." Grumbling softly, he tugged his hat further down his face. Shinichi was unaware if it was because of the wind or the talkative pathologist, but waited until he started talking again.

"The shot originated from a distance of about five meters—at least that's what we can tell by the actual investigation. The projectile hit her skull from behind. According to the witnesses she was just about to turn around when—"

"Wait a second! Witness? "

"No witness _es_." Without being asked to, Megure pulled his notebook from the inner pocket of his coat. "To be exact two and a half."

"Pardon… half a witness?"

"Well…" The cheeks of the superintendent turned red in slight embarrassment.

"Our third witness is a little boy. We can't place too much importance on his words." Shinichi nodded but swallowed. It seemed like Conan had not left all that much of an impact on the Japanese police.

"Furthermore, the boy and his mother were too far away when the crime happened so that their statements were mostly that they heard the bang of the weapon when the shot occurred. Our last man is probably the most important on—a guy named Tome, a postman—he was there when the crime happened, and he saw everything… but his statement is useless right now. He was shaken so badly that he could barely from a straight sentence. I just ordered Kikuja to get our psychologist to talk to him." He took a frustrated breath.

"However, this headshrink thinks that if he didn't want to talk so shortly after what he saw then he deserved a day's rest to deal with everything. As if we had such a thing as time! Anyway, the witnesses are at home right now, under our observation of course. Mori is dealing with the weenie postman; I just hope that he doesn't sympathize with him if this man decides to drown his sorrow in alcohol." Megure's last words were just a murmur, but the name still rung all of the warning bells in Shinichi's head.

"Mori? Kogoro Mori?"

"Uh? Yes. Have you heard his name before, Professor?"

"Well… if it's the famous Sleeping Detective, then yes." Megure nodded, but his eyes drifted off into the distance.

"Him and no other, but… I have to say those days are far away, Bell-san." Shinichi swallowed.

'Not so far as you might think, Megure.'

Both men were silent for a while until the superintendent managed to pull himself from his thoughts when his rigid gaze suddenly caught something very much alive. "So we'll bother ourselves with the witnesses tomorrow, but maybe Inspector Sato can tell us more about it. She and Mori just brought them home." He pointed to the parking place where a short-haired women forcefully slammed the door of her fire red car shut.

'Inspector Sato, I guess I should have known it.'

Shinichi did not even try to swallow any more, for despite the still wet spring air his throat had become a desert that seemed to burst into a sandstorm when he saw her. At first sight, it seemed that the young police officer had not changed at all. She was still loyal to her handy short haircut and her energetic walk told him that she had not lost her strength of character over the years. He finally saw a change when she stepped close enough for him to see the little winkles around her eyes, which covered her face like a tender webbing.

"So Sato, have you got anything new for us?"

"Afraid not, chief." Annoyed, she blew a strand of her hair out of her face.

"At least nothing besides the broken prattling of a postman and the fantasies of a little boy about Cowboys." While Bell noted the information with drawn eyebrows, the superintendent for sure was annoyed by the rather unsurprising news.

"Well, that's great. But anyway Sato… shouldn't you be off duty by now?"

"Uh? Yeah sure." The officer turned red and scratched the back of her neck in embarrassment.

"But I wanted to report to you first, and besides, Wataru should be here with the little one any minute now."

"Ah, … do you really think it's a good idea to bring her to crime scenes so often?" But she only brushed the well-intentioned advice off.

"Nah, don't worry about it, Superintendent, there isn't much to see here by now anyway." She smiled. "Useless you've got any new information for me?" For the first time since she spoke her eyes drifted to Bell. Shinichi ,who had only listened to their conversation a little confused, could now feel the eyes of the inspector on his skin. He had often felt the interested, ever-so-slightly skeptical gaze on his back as Conan, and so it was not much of a surprise when it now was back on him.

Before one of them could say anything, Megure recognized his mistake. "I beg your pardon, Professor! Allow me to introduce you to Inspector Sato. She is one of the leading officers in this case. Sato I'm sure you've heard about Professor—"

"Don't bother, Superintendent." She roughly interrupted her boss, holding out a hand to a quite confused Bell.

"It's nice to meet you, Professor, say… the happy end, what probably all of your readers are waiting for, you surely don't intend on keeping it from us forever, right?"

Shinichi swallowed; that explained it. She knew him as an author, so of course she would recognize him.

"Well, you know that life itself doesn't always offer an happy end either, so I wouldn't count on it too much." Bell's voice held, despite the apologetic smile, a grave tone, his sudden dull glance not leaving any place for either Megure or Sato to argue. The inspector just nodded regretfully, looking back to the white gravel where red mixed itself into the white stones.

"I just hope that you do a better job in real life, Professor." Shinichi was just about to answer the critical comment when a bright voice stopped him before a word escaped his lips.

"Mummy!"

Beneath the rushing child feet, the gravel—which had been harsh and treacherous—lost all its secrets. The little creature which only seemed to exist out of two long pigtails, ran to them so fast that if Sato had not kneeled down to catch her she would have been unstoppable. With a joyful giggle, the little girl fell into her mother's arms, while a slightly out of breath father had taken up the chase.

"Noriko, you know that you shouldn't run away like that! You know that you're not supposed to run around a crime scene all by yourself."

"Yeeees, Mummy. But technically I wasn't alone, since I came straight to you and besides, it's not my fault that Dad took so long." With an accusatory glare the little girl looked back to her father, whose steps had slowed down by now.

"Jeez, Nori! Next time—next time you'll wait for me!" But his little daughter had not heard her father, who was still gasping for air. Cheerfully she gabbled on, telling her mother the longer version of what they had learned in school today.

Takagi watched his wife and daughter for a while before his gaze fell to Bell, and that he addressed Megure in a low voice. "So that's him?"

"Mm, he just arrived." Megure nodded while his eyes drifted to Bell again, who watched Takagi's wife and her little girl with a somewhat lost gaze.

"Have you showed it to him yet, Superintendent?"

The older officer just sighed, hiding his hands in the pockets of his coat with eyes still glued onto the professor. "No… I thought it would be better to wait until _he_ was here, so that we at least have an ace up our sleeves before this guy holds all cards in his hand."

"I understand…" Takagi's appraising gaze still rested on Bell when Sato's voice brought him back into reality.

"Wataru? Don't you want to say goodbye to Noriko and me?"

"What? Yes, sure." He went to them with an apologetic smile, pulling his six year old in his arms and followed her wife to her car.

Shinichi's blue eyes followed the pair; he saw how Takagi pressed a kiss onto his little girl's forehead while Sato watched them with a motherly gaze. He swallowed and tried to suppress the uneasy feeling in his stomach to make space for what should instead have been there.

Joy.

He could not have wished them anything better. It seemed as though at least their dreams had come true. But he could not fully enjoy the sight; it would have been nice if he could just ignore the bitter voice inside him that whispered into his ear with a venomous forked tongue: because he wished that he could have been able to meet the little girl sooner, to congratulate Sato and Takagi for their luck. Instead, the only thing he could do was to pretend that he did not care, since he did not know these people. This particular Happy End for his former friends allowed his own uneasy feelings to grow. He was scared of the other changes his visit in Japan would reveal to him. He was afraid to see more things that he should be happy about, but simply would not be able to. Shinichi swallowed.

'Pull yourself together Kudo! Just look at them: they are happy, so be happy for them too.'

He managed a broken smile while he looked upon them for a few more minutes.

He was just an invisible ghost, a silent observer who got a glimpse into a life that was not his own… not anymore. Never in all this time, thousands of miles apart, had he felt more distant from his friends and families than today.

* * *

 _Hello everyone,_

 _A little early update because I got a bad cold- no voice and all so I had to quit work for this week, but snuggled up in my warm blanked I can at least do this and post the chapter._

 _Thanks for all the wonderful reviews! I enjoyed reading every single one of them!_

 _Well unfortunately my beloved Beta Taliya has to take a break form her work- so well **I am searching for another Beta-** maybe two, to split of the work- so that it won´t take the nice person who offers his/her help to much time. But be reminded again that I am not a native- so there's not only spelling, but also gramma and phrasing to check. Anyway I would love if some of you would offer your help, just send me a PM and I'll get in contact as soon as possible._

 _Many thanks to Taliya and WinchesterOf221B for their beta work!  
_

 _I promise we'll see some more familiar faces soon!_

 _I wish you a happy Christmas (or whatever you´re celebrating) and to all of you a happy new year, stay safe and enjoy the holydays_

 ** _* putselfmadegermanchristmaschookieshereforallofyou *_**

 _Till next year (or your review ~ )_

 _Shelling ~_

 _PS: Just to make it clear- the first part of the chapter is a flashback of the victim again._


	5. 4 Lies don t die

**Lies don't die**

The examination of the crime scene wasn't very productive, just like Takagi'd predicted. There wasn't much to see, beside a few blood traces. The rain and wind, along with a mob of cops and forensic investigators and a very upset postman had pretty much destroyed every possible track. But since Bell insisted on having a look at the crime scene for himself, Inspe- no, Superintendent Megure ordered Takagi to show him around, purportedly to help him along with the geography and if he had any extra questions; but Shinichi knew that they wanted to keep an eye on him at all times.

He observed the officer with a sad smile from the passenger seat of his car while they were en route to the crime scene, thinking, 'You always end up playing my nanny no matter how old I seem to be, right Takagi?'

They'd been snaking through Tokyo's streets for a while now; and since Shinichi knew the crime scene was the Beika Park, he guessed that they should arrive there any minute now.

Takagi seemed to be focused solely on the traffic. He didn't speak to him, nor did he notice Bell's skeptical glance when the Professor peeked above his glasses to examine him.

His marriage seemed to do the officer a lot of good; like Sato, he didn't change all that much, apart from gaining a few wrinkles. He wore the same hairstyle and was without doubt happy about the fact that not a single strand of grey hair was yet to be found on his head. The fact that he -unlike his wife- didn't get promoted didn't seem to bother him either. With a knowing smile Shinichi's gaze wandered to the minimalistic golden ring on the Sergeant's finger.

Maybe it was due to the fact that it was his responsibility to take care of his little daughter while he gave his wife the chance to push her carrier forward and thus had a lot on his plate, Takagi seemed to prefer following orders rather than issuing them himself. That the two of them would have their happy ending was clear even before Conan left the country, and the fact that it finally happened made him overjoyed.

"You've really got a great family, Takagi-keiji. Your daughter is really lively, and looks like she'll make a smart young woman." Takagi's cheeks reddened with happiness.

Shinichi was lucky he managed to find a theme the Sergeant was glad to talk about. He didn't have to endure the car ride in suffocating silence anymore.

"You can say that, but sometimes it's easier to manage a herd of cats than it is to manage Nori. I- I mean-" he stuttered awkwardly, "Don't get me wrong Professor, she is much more than I ever hoped for but… looking after her can really keep you on your toes."

"Now, now, Takagi-keiji, your little girl is already seven-"

"Six,"

"Ah, pardon me, six years old; I'm sure you've got the hang of it by now, right?"

His eyes wandered to Takagi, who broke away from the traffic in order to narrate a few more anecdotes about his family. A bright smile appeared on Shinichi's lips, he might still be considered a stranger by Takagi and he knew that not everyone would make it that easy for him like the Sergeant did, but the happy chatter of the officer finally gave him a little bit of the feeling of coming back home.

"I'm truly happy for you, Takagi."

Bell's words stopped the officer's deluge of words, and he instinctively sensed that something was off about Bell. Bell obviously meant it, but his eyes had an expression that was melancholic, almost sad. His glasses reflected the light, hiding his eyes from the Sergeant for a second, then the glare went away and Takagi stared into those eyes for a brief moment and suddenly felt like he was in a moment of déjà vu.

He knew these eyes. Just where had he…?

"I am really happy for you,"

"W-what?"

"You seem to be a great father, but wouldn't it be better to show me if you're an equally good officer? It looks like we're already at the crime scene."

"Huh?!" The Sergeant looked around in surprise. He hadn't realized that while he was trying to grasp on to that tantalizing memory that was flittering on the edge of his conscious thought, he had parked the car neatly in front of park. Bell snickered at the astonishment of the officer, once he caught on to the fact that Takagi had been mentally absent during the last part of the trip.

"Women really tend to underestimate us men," Bell announced with a mischievous smile.

'What the heck is the old man talking about?' Takagi wondered, all of his vague suspicions making him feel pretty out of loop somehow.

"Our little journey just showed us that men are capable of multitasking too, right?"

"Y-yeah." But he still stared at Shinichi with a look that made him uneasy, rather like a slide under the scientist's microscope. Shinichi coughed slightly and tried regain his objectivity again.

"Well then Takagi-keiji, I for one don't intend to spend the whole day here, and besides," his eyes wandered to the darkening sky, "I'm not sure how long our little tour will last before we end up with soaked feet."

Takagi nodded, trying to pull himself together and hastily shoved the car's key in his pocket before following the Professor into the park.

XXX

The budding, bright green leaves formed a light flooded canopy over their heads,anopygn his pocket before edithhe scientist' pretty out of loop somehow. the last part of the tripconsious the fallen leaves from the yesteryears carpeting the ground in various hues ranging from red to yellow. Japan's vegetation was more abundant than in New York, Shinichi observed fondly as he glanced at the blooming buds on the branches. Thanks to the rapidly graying heaven, they had the park to themselves beside a few straggling joggers. The wind blew in their faces, a wet cold creeping underneath their skin.

He had brought Bell to the crime scene, but to be honest, the Sergeant had no idea what the Professor hoped to find on the mossy ground after over a week.

"I want to visualize it," was Bell's answer when Takagi echoed his thoughts aloud. And he seemed to be doing just that for about an hour now. Bell took a look, a very close look; that Takagi had to concede. After Takagi showed the Professor the area the forensics guys had canvassed, he stood back and watched the old man snoop over every nook and cranny inside and outside the area. He was surprised to note how the old man moved so lithely, like his old age didn't hinder him the least bit. Maybe he looked so old because of the stress in his work life, who knew. He had a feeling that it wasn't because of family troubles because Bell gave off the vibe that he was a bachelor for a long while now and he didn't seem too be active in the romance front either.

Takagi smiled cynically; at least in his meticulous work, the Professor matched Sherlock Holmes. He focused his gaze at the man who was now taking a look at the trees surrounding the path. Something still felt amiss about him, the light in the blue eyes of the man while he was at work seemed to be oddly familiar to the Sergeant, and he just couldn't fathom _why._

He closed his eyes and massaged the bridge of his nose, trying to grasp that elusive memory that was just at the fringes of his memory, but like one would expect, the answer wasn't served to him on a silver plate and instead the wind tugged at his jacket, forcing Takagi to huddle up and try to tough it out. He looked up when he heard the approaching footsteps, and saw Bell's focused gaze as he tried to figure something out. His expression seemed even more familiar but he still didn't know why. Bell took a long breath, shoving his cold hands into the pockets of his brown coat, while his eyes wandered over the crime scene again.

"So? Have you found anything, Professor?"

"I fear not." He said in a sobering tone.

Takagi nodded, and looked morosely to the leaf strewn path.

'Just like I thought, it would have been a miracle if he'd actually succeeded-'

"That is, depending on how important it is to know that the murder had waylaid the victim." Takagi's eyes grew wide, but Bell only smirked at his surprise.

"What?! How on earth did you arrive upon such a deduction?"

Shinichi smiled as he removed his glasses and polished them with the sleeve of his coat.

"I have to confess there isn't much evidence to be found anymore, but fortune decided to smile upon us."

"Just how did you…?"

"Well, I could be wrong about this, but the chances of that happening are very, very slim. You see the big tree in that secluded nook a few steps away from the spot where the corpse was found, don't you?"

"Yes…?"

"The ground is still damp because of the weather and because the foliage of the tree didn't allow much of the dampness to evaporate; and so, the tracks left by our mystery man were imprinted and are still there, nearly intact; if you might want to follow me, Takagi-keiji." Takagi nodded, stunned at Bell's finding, but followed him to said tree.

"I guess this is where our murderer waited for the victim." He pointed to a pair of triangular dents in the ground, partially camouflaged by the leaves, "Observe the set of tracks that lead here,"

"Why, they're rather shallow," Takagi observed, his incredulousness at the find giving way to practical efficiency.

"He must have been running from here, that's why only the tips of his shoes are visible; and they're not deep enough to do much with, I fear." Bell nodded to himself after he finished rattling off his observations, and traced the footprint with his index finger, obviously deep in thought.

"The traces aren't that visible on the path and they could very well be from someone else, but I don't believe it. They are coming from the crime scene and after that they just disappear. That might as well be the reason why your team hasn't seen them."

"Maybe," the Sergeant murmured and looked back to the route the murderer had taken.

"At first it was the grass and later the wet leaves which must have muted his steps, it's quite possible that the victim hasn't heard him at all." Takagi observed.

"And even he did, he probably just thought the murderer was a jogger who was catching up with his pace from behind," Bell got up from the ground, wiping his fingers clean on his trousers.

"That means our murderer must have sabotaged his victim, so he knew he would come here that day."

"Unless he didn't really care who his victim was." The quiet murmur from Takagi caught Shinichi's attention.

"You really think that, Takagi-keiji? That a murderer who calls himself "Sherlock Holmes" and took the time to stand underneath the tree for a long time in this weather waiting for his victim to show up would act so aimlessly and without a plan?" Tiredly he shook his head, pushing his glasses back, "No. He has a plan, there has to be one and we just don't know what he's after, yet."

The Sergeant nodded, agreeing with Bell's solemn whisper. "That sounds about right, Professor,"

"But the case isn't solved yet." Bell reminded Takagi soberly but gently, almost like breaking bad news to a child.

Takagi's new-found hope dimmed a bit.

Of course Bell was right, but somehow Takagi had a good feeling about all this. The Professor had shown that he was quite competent in his field (and the hype was 100% justified) and his methods seemed to be strangely familiar and reassuring. He made a really good impression; one could say that Takagi almost liked him, despite the sense of uneasiness Takagi had in the other's presence.

The Sergeant smiled. Maybe the man from New York could really help them after all.

But Shinichi didn't see the hopeful look flit through the eyes of the officer. He couldn't share the confidence which he seemed to have awoken in Takagi. Something else still sat heavily on his mind beside the fact that the culprit had specifically chosen his victim; he had already suspected that back then when he had read about it in the newspaper. No, it was the pattern of the murderer's footsteps that worried him immensely. Deep in thought, he stroked his chin, reducing the pressure when he felt the silicon beneath his fingertips, but let his hand rest on Bell's face. The fact that the tracks of the murderer suddenly seemed to disappear from the crime scene still made him nervous.

'Of course it was possible that they just weren't visible anymore, it wouldn't be surprising what with all the people who have crossed this path by now…and yet I _know_ something is wrong here.' The implications of the deduction that seemed most probable to him made him gulp. He rubbed his face (or tried to before he realized that he was Bell, not Shinichi) and adjusted his glasses.

If the set of footprints that matched the culprit's hadn't left any traces behind, it could only mean that he didn't feel the urge to run any more, which meant that his tracks didn't make deeper impressions in the ground. If that was the case, the murder had _left the place in stoic calmness after he committed the crime_.

And it was this calmness that left Shinichi feeling a chill deep in his bones that the cold wind outside could never dream of causing in any mortal.

XXX

He declined Takagi's offer to drive him to Matzudo, and he was now wandering through the streets for quite a while now, losing all sense of time. To stretch his legs, think about the case and get some fresh air was all that he wanted and yet he knew right from the beginning that he wasn't going to accomplish any of that with his current mindset. His thoughts drifted into another direction again and again, and no matter how much he tried to distract himself from going _there_ , his mind didn't seem to obey.

The weather seemed to be kind enough to spare him from further rains, but Shinichi didn't care much about the little sunrays which fought their way through the dark grey clouds. He could feel the moist ground beneath his feet and recognized how the cold wetness slowly seeped into his shoes and socks but he simply didn't care.

Ten years.

He had been away for whole ten years.

He couldn't deny that everything around him had changed. Japan had changed.

He was the only one still marked by time. Of course, for all that matters he thankfully wasn't a child anymore; he had grown up again, back to being the high school student Kudo Shinichi and yet he didn't seem to fit into the jigsaw, which he had wrecked himself to scatter the pieces to the four winds.

He'd doomed himself to be that one piece of the puzzle that didn't and will never belong.

Shinichi took a deep breath and tried to enjoy the warming sun rays which didn't quite reach through the silicon layer on his face.

Everything in him wished for nothing more than to turn back time, to jump back into a period in which he seemed to fit in at least on the outside, to live a life like it should have been. A normal one.

Without the Organization.

Without APTX 4869.

Without having to be Conan.

Without…, no _with_ her.

He tried to ignore the invisible hands which sought to suffocate him with every passing moment.

All of... _this_ was insane.

Absolutely nuts.

Illogical, even.

After all this time in America, he couldn't ruin everything just because of his absurd wish to get his life back. He would be a fool, a dreamer if he ever dared to think that it would be that easy. There was never an easy way out of this mess, not for him.

'After all, I left for a reason.'

"Please excuse me, but you're blocking the path."

A thin, tremulous voice ripped him away from his thoughts and he turned around to look into the wrinkled face of an old woman. Her shoulder level hair was bound up, from which a few strands hung loose like silver spider webbings.

Her wrinkles deepened on her forehead as she looked at him in puzzlement, waiting for him to finally step aside.

"Y-yes, of course. I'm sorry." Awkwardly he stepped aside to make way for the small, corpulent woman. His gaze fixed itself on the peach colored gillyflowers which she had lugged underneath her arm, while she carried a half-filled watering pot in the other.

"May I help you?"

"No, there's no need for that, young man. All this moving about is good for me and keeps me going. I want to visit some more people before I take my place in here," a mischievous smile accompanied her cheeky wink as she stepped past him, leaving him behind in little, brisk steps.

"Huh?" He looked around in, wondering what the old woman was talking about. It didn't take long before his eyes widened as he realized where he was; when he recognized where his steps had taken him.

"It…it can't be," he breathed. The shock felt like a sharp blow to his stomach.

The path beneath his feet was paved with thousands of little white pebbles, and neatly came to an end at the green border of grass. Small trails crisscrossed everywhere, winding secretively all over the place. Someone had planted cherry trees around the borders of the place, and their rose colored blossoms scattered around in the wind and rested on the stones, looking rather like pink snow.

The numerous different flowers peeking out of the slender vases turned the place into a carefully manicured garden, and then there were the soft swirls of smoke emanating from a few lonely smoldering joss sticks.

But he didn't see any of it.

He was blind to the variety of flowers, didn't see the sunrays which seemed well on their way to conquering the clouds. He just smelled the mossy scent of the stones, heard a disembodied sobbing from somewhere in the distance and watched the bugs that were busy digging into the soil and everything, which was normal given where Shinichi stood.

A cemetery.

He stood in the middle of a cemetery.

'What now?'

Shinichi tensed and looked nervously around.

Everything in him told him to go, get the hell out of there as fast as he could, to leave this place that his subconscious had led him to in such a cruel way. Shinichi screwed his eyes shut and tried to calm his breath. He needed to pull himself together. What kind of a detective was he if a simple cemetery made him want to flee?

He balled his trembling fingers into fists and then opened his eyes take a look around. He couldn't even backtrack now because he needed to go back to Beika proper to avail a taxi, and the shortest route to that was through this cemetery. Shinichi took a quick breath, and a weak smile followed his thoughts. That's why…that's the reason why his feet had taken this direction.

It was the shortest route.

That was the _only_ reason.

Slowly, one step after another he walked forward. Shinichi put his hands defensively in his pockets, while his gaze drifted to the floor again.

He just wanted to get back into town.

That's it.

XXX

Despite all his dread, he stood here now.

He seemed to be frozen, unable to decide what he should do. Shinichi hadn't searched for it, didn't even try to look for it; if anything, it was just the opposite. He would have given a very wide berth to this very plot of earth.

And yet he stood here…in front of her grave.

Maybe it had been the white marble which had caught his attention. Beside the somber grey and black stones surrounding it, it was really eye-catching, especially with the sun hitting it in just the right angle. The formerly velvety leaves of a now dried up rose hung limp in its vase and the remains of the joss stick was nothing more than a little pile of ash which waited to be carried away with the wind.

But he only saw her name, saw the date and read the concise inscription in golden letters again and again, unable to say or think of anything.

" _ **In loving memory of Ai Haibara,**_

 _ **Beloved sister and friend,**_

 _ **You will always be in our hearts.**_

 _ **1990-1996"**_

The injustice of it all struck him dumb.

He struggled to breathe.

'No, no, no, no, no!'

Shinichi's eyes fluttered back over the name, got stuck at the date for a second and then went back to the short epitaph again.

This could not be true.

'She couldn't be…'

'Why would they…'

He wasn't able to form a clear thought, but he knew one thing.

This was all so _wrong_.

They should never have buried her under that name.

His breaths were shallow, none of the air seemed to reach his lungs.

Nothing in his dreadful, miserable life could compare to this injustice, this gross ignorance.

This time she wasn't dying. No, she was…dead.

Dead.

It'd been ten years now, since her death.

But she lay here as _Ai_ _Haibara_ , not ShihoMiyano.

Even after all these years…she still couldn't reclaim her real identity. Even in death, she was forced to hide in the guise of another. Forced to live in the shadow of the days she was hunted by the Organization.

Shinichi wanted to run a hand over his forehead but stopped his hand shortly before he damaged the silicon layer. This shook his nerves so much that he forgot that he was William Bell, not Kudo Shinichi.

He tried to come up with an explanation; of course there has to be a reason why they buried her by that name. Maybe it would have generated too much unwanted attention. Everybody knew her as Ai, they would have asked questions if they suddenly reverted to using her original name.

Everything would have leaked out.

The whole story. The _lies_.

That's why she…she had to take her secret to her grave.

Shinichi tried to take a breath, while the anger, disbelief and guilt stabbed his conscience. Even so, he couldn't gaze away from the gravestone. He couldn't simply go and run away from all his fears like he'd been doing nearly all his life now. He refused to run away since she was here.

She was _here_.

'Ai…'

He didn't know what to do.

Should he pray? Probably.

But all that came to his mind was this wearying question which had tormented him over the course of the past years.

"Why?"

His bloodless lips formed this soundless question.

But she didn't answer.

Why the hell couldn't she answer his damn question?!

'I have a right to know!'

Shinichi felt like he was slowly spiraling into insanity. He wrapped his trembling arms around himself and forced himself to look at the cherry blossoms, the flowers, the vases, anything but the dreaded tombstone. But that didn't last for long. His eyes fell upon a little bug which had suddenly appeared on the white marble. Its thin little antennas twitched in every direction as it left the shadow over it, spreading its wings and basking in the sunlight.

That was it. The fact that a mere insect lived a life better than Shiho could ever dream about got to him. Shinichi suppressed a gag, pressing his shivering hand to his lips. He was ready to flee from this place when suddenly, a very familiar voice assailed his ears.

"Excuse me but…did you know her?"

His heart skipped a beat.

He turned around in a trance-like state and unconsciously obeyed the silent voices which commanded him to face the speaker.

Shinichi felt like someone had twisted a knife in his guts when he finally saw him, after he ascertained that his feelings didn't fool him, that he was really standing here.

'Not this, on top of everything else!'

He blinked, because he still couldn't believe what was happening. He tried to get back into the role of being William Bell to answer the question which was addressed at him.

"I…uh, no. No, I didn't know her. I'm sorry."

He didn't know what hurt more, the lie or the smile Professor Agasa was still giving him.

He really couldn't go any lower than this. He, of all people, _he_ denied knowing her.

'If you weren't going to go to hell before, you will after what you did just now.'

Maybe Black had been right all along. To come back here really wasn't a good idea, not when he had to pay so much just to get a glimpse of his old life. A slight shiver ran down his spine.

Over the past years, their looks and voices had faded in his memories. At the beginning, Shinichi ran away from all the starkly vivid memories, and made himself forget about it. Soon, it came to the point where he needed to force himself to remember the faces of those he had left behind. It was stranger still that these sights, voices, and even the smells broke the reservoir of memories, flooding his mind and bringing these dark grey shadows in his memory back to life.

Still frozen in place, he observed how the Professor slowly walked to the grave, while Shinichi automatically stepped aside to make way for Agasa who seemed to have some practice when he kneed in front of the grave with a sad sigh to exchange the offering he'd brought. He exchanged the withered rose carefully with a new one, whose red petals were still furled in a little bud. He removed the ash pile with the skillful hands of an inventor, but didn't light another joss stick. Probably because of the weather.

All of this was done in a manner that suggested that this was a routine event, which hurt Shinichi just as much as the dull smile on Agasa's lips as they moved in a soundless conversation.

"Sadly, she passed away far too early."

"I'm sorry?" Surprised that Agasa suddenly spoke to him, Bell winced.

With a short groan the Professor got up, dusting off the rest of the ash away from the arm of his coat, while his gaze was still fixed on the little red rose.

"It's not fair that she never had the chance to live her life." Agasa said, bitterly. Shinichi nodded automatically, felt how the blood left his face.

Agasa wasn't lying.

Ai- Shiho still had a life to live, one without the Organization, a life that he had promised her.

He closed his eyes in silence.

He had failed. He had disappointed everyone.

His promise wasn't worth anything; it was nothing but smoke and mirrors with which he blinded everyone, but most of all, himself. Ai had known it; she had always known that he wouldn't make it, that it was impossible.

And she was right all along.

He swallowed, he clenched his fist and didn't register how they shook.

'If I just had listened to you, Ai; if I hadn't been so stubborn and insisted that I'd do it all by myself…then maybe, maybe it-'

"She was involved in a crime, you know,"

"Huh?" Professor Agasa seemed to understand his disoriented gaze as a question and nodded sadly, while his thumb brushed over the dry rose which looked tiny in the hands of the inventor.

"If we only had the culprit, maybe it wouldn't hurt that much."

"I fear you're mistaken there." Bell's voice cut through the air and finally got Agasa's attention. The inventor now looked up from the gravestone and turned to look at him. He saw the slightly angry twinkle in his eyes before his gaze drifted back to the ground.

"The pain won't become any less just because you have someone to blame." His throat felt like a parched desert. It took a lot from him to suppress the bitter smile which burned guiltily on his lips.

'Believe me Professor, it doesn't help… not in the slightest.'

Agasa blinked, this man before him seemed strange somehow. His voice had a slightly foreign feel, and yet his speaking mannerisms seemed to be strangely familiar to him.

Shinichi felt Agasa's eyes analyzing Bell skin, obviously trying to figure him out.

"Could it be…could I possibly know you?"

"What?" Shinichi felt like the fear he felt at that moment would eat him alive. Was he discovered?

"You're William Bell, aren't you? Professor William Bell! I've read some of your books. It's

a pleasure to meet you, Mr. Bell, my name is Agasa, Hiroshi Agasa!" Shinichi frowned briefly as he shook hands with Agasa, part relieved while another part of him still felt miserable when he shook the hand of his old friend with an uneasy feeling.

Never before he had lied to Agasa.

Never.

'And here you thought that you couldn't sink any lower. It's almost like you're challenging your bad luck.'

But the Professor didn't seem to notice the uneasiness practically exuding from the man in front of him.

"I heard that you flew down here to give the police a hand with the case of…what was that again? Oh, yes, the 'Sherlock Holmes' case, wasn't it?" Agasa asked, looking slightly awestruck. And then his expression dimmed as he said, "Sure, I guess you're right Mr. Bell, but still… if the culprit had been arrested, I would get some answers and some closure at least,"

Agasa's eyes grew dull and he gazed off into the distance before he registered the tense silence between them and looked at Bell with an apologetic expression. "But, please excuse my behavior. It seems like I'm getting old after all. You're standing here and I've been bothering you with things you have no idea about at all." He flushed with embarrassment and scratched the bald(er) spot on his head.

"No, it's alright, Agasa-ha - san," Bell smiled at him.

Oh, Agasa had no idea that Bell was the farthest from having no ideas on the death of Shiho Miyano.

"Don't worry about me; besides, you might be right about the little girl." Shinichi continued, looking at Shiho's tombstone. He saw the reflection of Bell's face in the golden letters which spelled Ai's name. He looked to the ground and Agasa suddenly had the impression that the American was talking to himself rather than him when he said-

"There is only one truth. Only one which will come to light, no matter…no matter how long it might take."

Shinichi looked at Agasa at the end of his sentence, his eyes glinting with steely determination, almost as if this wasn't about some unknown little girl any more. It felt personal.

Agasa's breath faltered at the sight, his mind making some ridiculous, _impossible_ connections. For the first time, he actually looked at the American, trying to find proofs to substantiate the mad idea that sprouted in mind. The man's hair light (compared to the average Japanese person) brown hair, his lean build for a man of his age, his distinctly angular face, and the most damning evidence, those murky blue eyes which held an expression Agasa was so familiar with once upon a time.

'This is impossible', Agasa's mind reiterated, 'he had…he was-'

This couldn't be.

'Impossible. That's just…not possible!'

Agasa's inner turmoil could easily be perceived by the way his hands were trembling to the point that the dried up rose in his hands was shaking like a leaf.

'How…?'

Bell closed his eyes. Professor Agasa could hear the loud, shuddering breath he took. But the Professor didn't possess the patience to let the man take some time to compose himself, he couldn't bear Bell's silence anymore; so he decided to take action, silently hoping that he chose the right tactic.

"The truth," he started, then decided to rephrase it, "I hope you're right… I hope we're going to find it someday."

Shinichi swallowed, he could hear, could feel and knew what was going on inside the mind of his old and dear friend.

He couldn't lie to him after all, he never could before and he couldn't now, the old man just knew him quite too well for that.

His lips twitched into a small, bitter and dull smile as he sighed in resignation. He avoided Agasa's gaze while he spoke.

'There is no place here for the truth yet; and there will never be a place for me. I'm sorry.'

"Maybe… and maybe not." His eyes flitted back to the white marble.

"You're waiting for the answer to this question for ten years now and yet I fear that there might not be an answer to every aspect of it."

He took a deep breath, trying to steel himself and tell him all that he knew.

Then fear and panic hit him like he was being doused with a bucket of ice-cold water. This wasn't right. He shouldn't be here after all, let alone allowing this conversation to take such a turn.

He needed to go. Now.

He turned away from Agasa as he shoved his hands in the pocket of his coat, tried to get away before his old neighbor tried to stop him.

But the Professor had probably anticipated Shinichi's actions because he held on to Bell's arm. He was worried at how bony the wrist was, but he felt reassured that Shinichi was corporeal and not just some surprisingly imaginative figment of his imagination.

"Please- just a second, Co- Professor!" His pleading tone was just as jarring as the way Agasa had addressed him.

"Would it be possible- I mean, I would like to invite you to…something. Anything. I just want to-"

But Bell tried to pull away, still unable to look him in the eyes.

"I'm sorry." He swallowed and looked to the ground while he slowly shook his head. "That's nice of you, but-" his stern gaze fixed itself back on the Professor.

"I still got a case to solve. I'm sure you understand," The firm tone of his voice softened at the end. He really wasn't as good an actor as he'd expected himself to be by now.

Agasa understood and mechanically nodded.

His heart ached; he couldn't believe what his gut feeling was telling him. His mind couldn't accept it, as much as he wished for it to be real.

After such a long time… after all what had happened, how was it possible for _him_ to suddenly be here?

'I've known it, I've always known. But how? How is that even possible?' His hand was still

tightly closed around the arm of the American. Somehow, he still refused to let him go.

"Agasa-san…"

Bell's voice was tender but no less strict, when he looked Agasa urgently in the eyes. Agasa swallowed again and slowly loosened his grip on Bell's coat.

Shinichi nodded thankfully.

"Goodbye, Professor. "

With that he walked away without turning around again.

"Good-goodbye…"

'Shinichi? '

* * *

 _Hey everyone!_

 _Thanks for the great response and all your lovely Reviews last time!_

 _Another old face showed up- and I promise it´s not the last._

 _Again thanks to my amazing Beta´s Taliya, WinchesterOf221B! And Hello to Tobina who joined the club! But since Taliya won´t have much time anymore **I am still in search for another Beta.** Have in mind that I´m not a native speaker so there is probably a lot to correct, but on the other hand you only have to do about one chapter each month. Just PM me if you like to BD _

_**Reviews are always welcome and loved!** _

_I wish you a nice day!_

 _Till next time,_

 _Shelling_

 _PS: The next chapter of the Sherlock Cross is done and waiting for Beta - just for you to know that I still have it in mind.  
_


	6. 5 Black Tracks

**Black Tracks**

Bell and Matzudo got off separate from one each other. Even though they had the same appointment, the pathologist had departed with an apologizing smile to visit the university first, while Bell headed straight to the police headquarters. No one would mind the delay of an old-established pathologist, compared to him.

The sight of Tokyo's police department finally painted a smile on Bell's lips. The building hadn't changed at all from the outside, visiting it helped a bit to forget his first disastrous day of his stay.

Today surely couldn't get _that_ bad.

Even so, it still bothered him a little that Megure had withheld the second message without any remorse. Thoughtfully, he went through the well-known halls. He had no clue why Megure hadn't told him about it. He would have to talk about it today anyway… so why was it so important for Megure-Keib- no, Keishi to leave him in the dark until today?

Well, he would probably find out right now. Bell looked up as he noticed how several glances brushed him now and then- a few estimating and piqued, while others were appraising.

'Well, at least no one is going to ask for my ID today.'

It was quite obvious that the officers knew exactly who he was and why he was here, even so no one dared to address him directly. While Bell was heading for the conference room, in which Megure had ordered him, he tried to recognize some faces in the jumble of blue police uniforms, but they all remained some nameless figures to him.

Just before he reached his destination, he could hear an upset voice straight through the brown wooden door of their meeting room. Shinichi flinched. He couldn't deny that he had successfully suppressed the reason of its owner's anger.

"Who does he thinks he is?!"

The detective winced in front of the door. A contrite smile on his face, he was hit with the urge to flee, while Megure proceeded to rant against him.

"Involving children into this-"

"But we're no children anymore!"

"- like he's in charge!"

"But, we have helped with cases before."

"T-That's true Megure-Keishi, the kids…" but even Takagi's words couldn't smooth out Megure's anger.

"I know, I know, but this is not just about any case. And it's also about the principle! If he invites you kids today we might have the whole press on board tomorrow."

Bell had opened the door just a crack and he could see Megure with his hands propped on the conference table. The officer was in rage, the throbbing vein on his temple couldn't hide beneath his hat any longer. He could see how the children exchanged unsure looks - they hadn't expected that the American wasn't all that welcome here and they really wanted to avoid that he might get into trouble because of them.

"Actually… well the case is that he didn't even-"

"It's alright Mitsuhiko-kun."

He finally opened the door, but stayed in the door frame. He wanted to intervene before the high schoolers could take the blame.

Megure's features tensed for a second, swaying between acted politeness and anger until he settled for something in between.

"I have to say Professor, simply bringing kids into the case, while it's under strict secrecy is a bit thick."

The rebuke in the tone of the officer was accompanied with a twitch of his moustache, which indicated that he would have preferred to say something else. Bell though tried for a friendly tone and gave Megure an apologizing smile while he went further into the room and came to a stop in front of the superintendent.

"Good morning everyone. Well, while I can understand that you're upset Megure-Keishi, but the kids assured me that they've aided you on several cases before and regarding their passion for Holmes I thought they could be quite an asset for us.

The eyes of the Detective Boys grew along with the grateful smile on their lips. It seemed like Bell tried to get them off the hook, he lied just to help them without batting an eye. When Bell's gaze brushed them, they knew that it was now their turn to join him.

"He's right!" Ayumi agreed.

"We've worked with you before."

But Megure's voice remained hard, even when his face had twitched for a second."This is not a case for you. You're in high school, you should take care of your grades not murders."

Mitsuhiko however still tried to protest."That's not fair. Shinichi-niisan was allowed to help out!"

Megure noticeably jerked back at the argument, but the tense silence between them was short-lived.

"That's right… and we all know that I've put ma nose inta police business more than once, Megure-keishi and ya can't deny that we've been helpful."

Shinichi's heart skipped a beat when he heard the familiar accent, even without looking, he recognized the voice immediately. Were Bell just had been standing, _he_ was now showing them a challenging grin. Like everyone, Bell had turned around to the door, but unlike the others who looked at the newcomer in happy expectation, and he wasn't capable of any reaction.

'H-Hattori!'

He stared at the man in the doorframe with wide eyes and carelessly opened mouth like he had never seen something similar before. What wasn't right at all…

You could not forget Hattori Heiji, not even after ten years. Shinichi realized that his friend had grown a bit, his stature now matched his twenty-seven years and it seemed like someone had finally convinced him to bury his beloved, worn out baseball cap, or at least kept it out of his reach. The expression in his eyes however, was as sharp as ever.

Still unable to say or think anything, he kept staring at his old friend, who completed his surprising appearance in a well known manner.

"Just let them help Megure-keishi, we can for sure use every help we can get, otherwise we wouldn't have tha honor ta welcome Mr. Bell here, isn't that right?"

Heiji's eyes were focused on Bell now.

Heat shot into his cheeks, like the gaze of his friend had burned him. Hattori had already seen through him once, it wouldn't be easy to keep something from his old friend. He swallowed and returned the look of the detective with a brief nod.

No, that definitely wasn't going to make things easier for him, it was like everyone he had known was slowly gathering around him. Something inside him screamed to tell them who he was, to at least exchange some news, or simply ask how they have been doing, but his mind put his urge under arrest.

He wasn't allowed to.

He could only observe like an uninvolved bystander how Megure gave Hattori a warm welcome.

"Heiji! It's nice that you could come so quickly!"

Hattori mirrored Megure's smile, happily shaking his hand.

"Hey Superintendent, it's a pleasure ta meet again, even if tha circumstances unfortunately aren't that pleasant."

Megure nodded and proudly clapped the young man's back.

"Well, now that we've got you on board, I'm sure nothing will go wrong. Oh, of course…" Megure's gaze met Bell's. "May I introduce to you, inspector Hattori Heiji from Osaka."

Heiji understood the invitation and took a step towards Bell, offering his hand. "Professor Bell I assume? It's a pleasure ta meet ya."

But Bell knew the Osakan well enough to know that the friendly smile on his lips didn't simply mean 'welcome'. In his bright green eyes was a challenge clearly visible. ‚Let's see if you can beat me.' Bell smirked inwardly - perhaps it would at least be entertaining to work along his old friend.

'At least now I know what Megure's secretiveness was all about. However, I doubt that Heiji will be of much help when it's about Sherlock Holmes.'

He returned Heiji's smile while shaking hands with the detective. "The pleasure is all mine, even if I wonder what an Inspector from Osaka is doing in Tokyo?"

"The same thing as an American I assume."

The atmosphere was as tense as their supposedly friendly handshake, a clear sign that Bell had picked up the glove Heiji had thrown at his feet, accepting the challenge.

Megure, who seemed to notice the tension between the two men, finally wanted to open their meeting. "Well then, now that we're done with the introductions, let's start talking about the case."

"So, that does mean we can stay, right?"

The superintendent had obviously forgotten about the presence of the three high school students and looked at them in surprise. The detective boys had set up their biggest smiles, which had helped them persuade the police officer before.

"Fine," he grumbled with a sigh. "But you're doing exactly what you're told! Understood?"

"Of course!"

"As always." The board grins of them passed to Heiji, who took his seat just beside Mitsuhiko. "Now that you're part of the game it's probably going to be twice as exciting Heiji-niisan."

Takagi nodded approvingly. "That's right, almost like old times!"

The silence that suddenly claimed the room after Takagi's words confused Shinichi as well as with the gloomy faces of his friends before Megure broke through the calm clearing his throat.

"Well… let's get started before this madman search's himself another victim."

They nodded, but the tension still wouldn't leave the room. Bell, who took a seat right opposite from Heiji, observed Sato and Takagi, who were fighting a silent 'underground' battle which, according to Takagi's pained face, Sato had won.

"Ouch! Miwako!" he cursed, rubbing his hurt leg with his other foot.

"It's your own fault!" she hissed, nodding to the Detective Boys who seemed to listen to Megure's explanations far less happy than before.

"You're a father yourself now, you really could be a little more percep-"

"Takagi! Sato!"

The couple flinched, sliding deeper into their chairs underneath the sharp look of the superintendent.

"Whatever it is, I would like to ask you to discuss your private affairs at home!" The two of them nodded in sync, faces reading embarrassment while they listened to their superior's explanations.

The discussion of their previous investigations remained inconclusive, even the pathologist who came, like he had said, a little late couldn't tell them anything new.

Blood and organ analysis of both bodies came back unremarkable. The victims had died due to the obvious shot or stab wound. There were no signs of a fight, no striking fingerprints, skin- or fabric-particles. The presumption that the murderer, judged by the first victim, might rather be a man than a woman remained a guess.

Matsudo couldn't tell them much more. He left them a few copies of the lab results and then bid farewell to the group which wasn't much smarter, after what he had told them.

Megure pulled a chair back for himself with a growl and plopped down on it with a sigh to skip through the results with a fast look. His expression had darkened. This case was as opaque as the disgusting healthy soup Midori liked to cook for him when she was mad at him. She knew that he didn't like the grey mush. She could just as well not cook anything, but no, she preferred to sit beside him, watching him with her sweetest of smiles how her husband was spooning out his soup.

Megure grimaced at the thought that the killer might be doing the same right now, while rubbing even more salt into their wound with his words.

Sighing he shook his head, looking up into their small round again.

"It seems like we're not going anywhere with mere evidence. I think it's for the best to talk about the letters before we're going to deal with the witnesses. Ah right, Bell-san you should know that-"

"It's all right Megure-keishi, the news last night where rather informative." Bell didn't smile, but he couldn't deny that he was pleased with the slight redness on the superintendent's cheeks.

"However I still have a question. How is it possible, although this case is strictly secrecy, for such a sensitive information to get to the press?"

Megure winced briefly, judging on the annoyed expression on the officer's face, Bell just hat hit a sore spot.

"Well… this is indeed a problem," the superintendent admitted grumbling.

"Just a view seconds before we could reach the crime scene a photographer must have been there. This folk may be forbidden to announce something about the identity of the body before we've informed the relatives, but none of these vultures would hold back such a message longer than necessary."

Takagi nodded miserably. "The guy was already gone when we got there. These people know exactly that they are not supposed to be at a crime scene. Even if it is weird... the speed with which the press was there this time."

"Isn't it possible that he had been watching you?"

"What?" The eyes of all people present focused on Ayumi, who wasn't deterred by the attentions of the adults at all.

"Well, the whole thing has caused quite a stir, people had just been waiting for a second victim after the first letter," the high schooler explained, while Mitsuhiko supported her.

"That's right, it would be possible that someone had been waiting for you to storm out."

"Well… it would at least be possible."

"But there's also another possibility." Their eyes darted to inspector Sato."Maybe the murder is in cahoots with the press."

"I don't think so."

But the two men faltered after they had voiced the sentence at the same time, looking at each other in confusion. Also the eyes of the others present rested on them in surprise and burned on Bell's skin like stitches from hundreds of tiny ants.

'Crap!'

Shinichi gulped, but reacted fast, rising his hands to leave Heiji the advantage."It's alright, just go-ahead Hattori-keiji."

But the detective just looked at his rival for a while, before he started telling them the thoughts of both of them. "Okay well. If we look at tha second letter again, tha dissent in your theory will be obvious. Megure-keishi, could you..."

"What? Yes, sure." The superintendent rummaged through his papers before he put a copy of the letter on the table, which Heiji now held up for everyone to see.

"Just like I had in mind," the Osakan explained.

"The murderer has written it himself:

 _A mute dog is even more rare than a over-eager police officer. However, you don't seem to be able to hold the press at bay, but I do hope for you that this will change before I'm no longer able to choose my clientele personally._

The mention' of tha press in these lines is not difficult ta figure out. He makes himself quite clear, that if we don't stop information from leakin' out, he will no longer choose his own 'client'. That means-"

"He'll kill one of them, one of the press," Ayumi interjected, earning a nod from Heiji.

"That's right. He would no longer be able ta choose, but is convinced that he has ta do it." Heiji's face tensed as he nervously licked his lips.

"However-"

"There is still another possibility left," Bell ended Heiji's sentence, who shot him a skeptical glance, but reluctantly granted him to go on.

"It could be a distraction as well, since there isn't just the possibility that the murder is close to the press." Bells blue eyes narrowed behind his glasses. "It could also be that the person we're looking for is from this section, because then this message would only lead us away from our true target."

Megure groaned, tugging nervously at his mustache.

"That means we're right back where we started, none the wiser."

A short beaten grumble went through the small group, with the exception of Heiji, who fixated on Bell with a sharp grin. "Well, why won't we let hear what tha Professor has ta say about tha letters, after all he's our expert on Holmes, right?"

Incredulous about this sudden cooperation Megure stared at him.

"Yes, but Heiji-kun, to be honest I thought you could help us with that as well."

"What?!" Heiji gave the superintendent a perplexed look while the smile on Bells lips slowly grew wide.

"I'm sure a detective like yourself would know a few things about Holmes."

"Uh… well, Megure-keishi, Holmes was never really ma thin'. I mean, tha arrogance of this man is simply unbearable, not ta mention that his methods are totally out of date- Uh.. I mean they could no longer compare ta today's standards." Heiji corrected himself when he saw the anger glooming in the eyes of the Detective Boys.

The superintendent seemed to be rather disappointed by this revelation and handed the copies of the two letters to Bell. "Well then Professor, maybe you can help us."

Shinichi received the copies, pushing his glasses back in place while he studied the short text again, which he already knew almost by heart.

 _It seems like the one-eyed amongst the blind have gone blind completely._

 _Therefore, I allow myself to offer you my services in order to close this study in scarlet._

 _A mute dog is even more rare than an over-eager police officer. However, you don't seem to be able to hold the press at bay, but I do hope for you that this will change before I'm no longer able to choose my clientele personally._

Both singed with _Sherlock Holmes._

Shinichi swallowed, tried to ignore the anger building up in his stomach at the thought of such impertinence. However, the clean if swirly message typed with a computer together with the golden lettered name below didn't uncovered anything new. All in all it looked a little like a business card, over which's content he had nearly broken his brain apart all night.

"Now… I'm afraid I can't say that much about it, except that it obviously is some sort of attack to the police itself."

"What?!" Visibly surprised and shocked the officers stared at the young criminology professor."You mean because of him threatening the press?"

"No, no that's not it-"

"But what else? I mean… that ' _a mute dog is_ _more rare than a over-eager police officer'_ is more of a compliment than a treat, right?"

Bell only patiently shook his head at Genta's objection.

"No that's not what I mean, the animosity towards your department is already obvious in the first letter." He pushed the copy across the table for everyone to see.

"The _one eyed amongst the blind…"_ Bell let the words waver in the room, sinking back into his chair before his eyes moved into their round. _"_ Doesn't that sound familiar to anyone?"

The detectives including Heiji rummaged through their brains without a result. It seemed that reading the famous works of Conan Doyle laid a while back. However, the children didn't disappoint his expectations.

"Of course!" It was Ayumi who now looked at him excitedly. "Holmes called the police like that… that means, just a few of them since the others-"

"- were completely blind. Quite right. Inspector Lestrade from Scotland Yard and his colleagues, Gregson, Hopkins and Jones to be exact. Even if Lestrade probably solved the majority of cases with him, but also got the most problems working with someone like Holmes." Bell couldn't hide a small grin, before he continued.

"Anyway, they were the one-eyed amongst the blind for Holmes, supposed to be completely blind now can only mean that our murderer is criticizing the Japanese police."

Megure nodded, noticeable upset and urged the professor to go on with a quick wink of his hand. "What else do we have?"

"Well… like explained the press, even though I still don't see a connection to Holmes and the mentioning of a 'Study in Scarlet'. that maybe you interpreted correct as a series of murders to come." Bell stopped himself from putting a finger on his chin, instead drummed thoughtfully with his fingertips on the table.

"However, the dog mentioned in the second letter still remains a riddle."

"But there is a dog in Holmes isn't here?" Sato interjected.

"That book is quite famous and I think I've seen a film about it too. 'The hound of Baskerville'!"

"That might be right, but I'm not sure how a ghostly dog is supposed to be helpful in this case."

"May-Maybe it was a ghost!" The detective boys were wide awake again, grimacing at each other at the thought of something supernatural. A unbelieving grin appeared on Bells face.

'One could almost think that you're still in primary school.'

"Enough of that nonsense! Are ya really that daft? There's no such thin' as ghosts, and even if - they wouldn't be writing such neat little letters ta start a series of murders. So snap out of it!" The Osakan quipped at the three, he obviously still didn't have his temper under control.

"So, is it possible that he revers ta that dog or not?" Heiji turned to Bell in annoyance, who answered him slightly unsure.

"It's possible, but like I said I don't see how that would fit into our case…"

'Anyway…' Thoughtfully Bell started to play with the yellow pen lying before him on the table.'… that someone is calling himself 'Holmes' but only uses such little details from the stories themselves is strange. One could at least think that he should be kind of a fan himself, an expert who got out of control. Or is there more to it… something we just don't see?'

"Ta break our heads about it now would be pointless anyway." Bell looked up in surprise, Heiji's voice held a tone that announced that things would become uncomfortable now.

"It's useless ta think about it as long as we're not even sure if it was tha same culprit, since tha press is makin' such a fuss about it, it could very well be a copycat."

Bell nodded approvingly. "I'm afraid that's true. Weapon, location and type of the victim is different from the first murder. The only thing we've got is a similar wording in both letters."

He didn't notice that Heiji's eyes still rested on him. Something was wrong with this guy. The way he spoke and deduced an yet the whole secrecy, he could see right through him, there was something he was not telling them. The detective rolled his eyes in annoyance.

'Great! Just what we need, instead of focusin' on that damn case, I have ta care about this wannabe investigator.'

Megure who ordered his papers with a sigh, made it clear that this task would now go into the second round. "Unfortunately that's an unmissable fact. I', afraid this is not going anywhere today, it's time anyway. Best we hear the witnesses out, maybe that will bring a little light into the dark."

XXX

At least it wasn't raining.

That very well was the only positive thought of the little group of investigators on their way to the crime scene. There weren't much left after Detective Boys had been sent away. Talking to a witness required some sensitivity and too many people around wasn't what made people talk. The high schoolers accepted that, if only reluctantly, but promised to be back tomorrow morning.

Sato had already begun her researches to find a connection between the two victims, also she was ordered to find out who from the press was responsible for the pictures in the news, since that were their only traces right now, so that only a small part of their troupe was marching towards Kogoro now.

The important witness, was waiting with Kogoro at the crime scene. His face was red and swollen like someone had hit him brainless, it was plain to see that he tried very hard to pull himself together while Mori was watching over him with a stern glance.

Shinichi swallowed, if his 'ojisan' knew who was coming towards him, the series of murder would with no doubt get a new victim today. He used the distance which still separated them to take a closer look at the old- or rather new police officer. It seemed to do him good that he was working again, at least Kogoro's beer belly hadn't grown like Shinichi had expected it after Conan's departure. The moustache of the detective held some grey stands now and Shinichi was sure that he was helping out a bit when it came to his hair color, even if Mori would never admit that. Though he couldn't hide the spot of thinning hair at the back of his head.

At least in this area Mori didn't need to worry that someone might take a picture of the bald spot of the former famous sleeping detective to sell it to the highest bidder of a gossip magazine. The second crime scene was in a calm part of the district and unlike yesterday when the place had been full of police, one could even hear the birds singing in the threes on such a beautiful day. The shadows of the threes, standing at the small path beside the tracks, made it look like the ground beneath their feet was moving. But Shinichi groaned inwardly. He was not allowed to enjoy the sunlight, just the opposite, he knew that on a day like this his self chosen lie would burn itself even deeper into his faked face.

Kogoro grinned at them, as always very convinced of the importance of his job. "Good morning Megure-keishi, mission accomplished!"

"Yeah, yeah, alright Mori." Without further bothering with Kogoro, Megure turned to the skinny looking man, whose name was Tome Nuburu.

"I hope you're doing better today Tome-san, so that you might be able to explain to us what exactly happened yesterday."

The face of the questioned turned pale instantly, however he seemed to be determined to help with the case of the women (he obviously didn't dare to call her his girlfriend), so that he finally explained what happened in a fragile voice.

Actually he had wondered about the fact that she had been there at all. He had feared recently that she might be sick or that something… something had happened to her. However, she was walking towards him like usual, obviously she hadn't noticed the figure behind her, when he finally saw the gun he treid to warn her, but-

"She didn't hear me. She simply didn't hear me." The hands of the man cramped in his lap, like he wanted to turn back time to this very moment to reshape the end.

Bell looked at him skeptically, he still wasn't quite sure what to think of this whole thing, but Heiji was already ahead of him.

"How can it be that she didn't hear ya? I'm sure ya must have shouted out, or not?"

Tome looked up to him in confusion, it was obvious that he couldn't tell what he explained to them just a minute ago and what he might have left out, so he stuttered his words out again.

"I- she couldn't hear me, probably… probably because of the train."

Megure did perk up at that and suppressed the urge to grab the young man on his shoulders to simply shake the information out of him.

"What train? What are you talking about, man!?"

"Well it's generally the timing… usually if myself and the leader of the subway are on time then…" he faltered at the end.

"Now talk already!" Kogoro snapped at him and however unexpected found just the right method to get Tome talking again.

"There was a train, a subway to be exact, which passed us… that's why she didn't hear me."

Heiji nodded towards the witness, but his gaze was stuck on Bell, who's expression had caught his attention. Bells eyes were rigid, his pupils hushed back and forth just like he could see what happened right before him. Only a second after that a triumphant smile was spreading slowly on Bells lips, what punched the air out of Heiji's lungs.

That grin.

He knew where he had seen it before and yet he had believed that he would never see it again. Heiji swallowed, his throat suddenly was dry while his inside was filled with a cold emptiness, which he hadn't felt in a long time.

'Don't be stupid, Hattori!'

He gulped, drowning the brief spackle of hope in the bitter truth. He had long ago stopped to hunt this phantom. It wasn't possible, all evidence was against him… even if he wished it would be otherwise.

Shinichi had lost his fight against the organization back then and Heiji who had sworn himself to complete what his friend had started as well. He took a heavy breath, but he couldn't fight the bitter feeling in his stomach down, even if it surly wasn't the best time for self-pity and revenge now.

His eyes hurried back to Bell now, who still had this smile on his lips that was so similar to the one of his best friend, but also matched his own, like Ran always told him. He could feel how his heart clenched at the thought. Whenever he came to Tokyo he tried to avoid solving a case in Ran's presence. She always told him how similar they were and Heiji knew that it was hurting her. But if his smile was similar to Shinichi's, it was not that much surprising that the American's was as well.

But exactly that was what made him quite dangerous in the eyes of the inspector.

Because one thing was for sure - the reason for this grin could only be a deduction the professor apparently didn't want to share, but hid it from them with a satisfied smile.

Heiji's eyes narrowed as he watched the guest investigator.

'Just wait, I'll see through your little game _…_ _Professor_ _.'_

Shinichi didn't notice his friend's eyes on him, he was much too happy that he had at least solved one riddle. Thoughtfully he shoved his hands into the pockets of his jacket. Like always the answer just revealed a thousand more questions.

'The secret behind the dog might be solved and yet the question remains why it _didn't_ bark… _'_

Bell's tone was sober and calm as he raised his voice. Heiji watched him defiantly, this guy really didn't show his knowledge at all.

"Say Tome-san, can you describe the killer to us? I'm sure you must have seen him?"

The undoubtedly handsome face of the postman started twitching uncontrollable at the thought of the monster who had killed his friend, his mouth distorted into a fear filled mask.

"I- I'm afraid I won't be of much help with that… the sun stood in his back. I couldn't really see much." Ruefully he looked down, depressed about how unhelpful he was.

"Yes, but you must have seen at least _something_!? Was it a man or woman?"

"I don't know, based on his size I would say a man, but-"

"But it could have also been a tall woman," Heiji completed his sentence with a sigh.

"What about his figure? Clothing? Anything?!" Megure's voice swayed dangerously, it was obvious that the case really got to the superintendent.

Tome seemed sense that and avoided everyone's gaze while he spoke.

"I don't know... the clothes yes, but that's also why I can't tell you much about the figure. He- the culprit wore a long coat with the hood drawn down in his face, the... the coat and the rest of his clothes were all black, just like death itself… that's why he was suspicious to me right from the start."

Shinichi hit it like a blow to the gut, every muscle of his body tensed while he was thinking the unthinkable. He had the feeling that hundreds of hot needles sunk into his skin, while he tried to comprehend what the words of the disturbed man might mean for him.

The organization.

The organization, here in Japan.

He swallowed, his hands cramped up automatically.

'What if it's a trap… if they lured me here with this murder. _'_ Defensively he shook his head.

No, no, it couldn't be.

How would they know that it was him, absolutely no one knew who was hiding behind William Bell except for a few people of the FBI itself.

But what if they were involved in the case anyway.

He licked his trembling lips. If that was true, that only meant danger for all of them. Before Shinichi could think about how he could get to the bottom of it, Heiji's roar ripped him from his thoughts.

"WHAT DID YA SAY?!"

The young inspector had jumped at Tome's collar, his eyes nearly glowed while they were wide open."Come on now! Talk! Completely in black? How did he look? How? Talk ta me, damn it!"

"Heiji!" Megure worriedly put his arm around the shoulder of his colleague and thus woke him from his frenzy. Heiji barely managed to turn away from the witness, his hands opened and closed again and again while Megure gently talked to him.

"Pull yourself together Heiji-kun, otherwise we'll never get the information we need.

Shinichi watched the scene before him in shock. The skin of both detectives was pale, even Takagi who was standing helplessly aside wore a painful expression, while Heiji slowly tried to regain control over himself. His knees felt like they were about to give beneath him and Shinichi tried to swallow around the lump in his throat. Only now he fully understood what damage he had caused back then.

Of course, Heiji knew about the organization. And due to the disaster ten years ago, the police must at least know about the connection between Conan and the criminals whose trademark was the color black.

'No…'

His eyes remained on Heiji, his old friend apparently had drawn the same conclusion as him, but that he freaked out just because of that wasn't typical for him. While the western detective always had a little more temper than himself, he was normally quite good to keep it at bay.

Shinichi's eyes narrowed.

His friend wouldn't be so stupid to go after the organization by himself… he just couldn't hope to find a lead to them because of this murder.

'Please Hattori, tell me that you're not that stupid!' He nervously bit his lips. Even if the organization was involved in this murder, there was no way he could allow Heiji and the others to get drawn into the whole thing… again. The thought alone was enough that a feeling of nausea was rising inside of him.

He had to prevent that.

Bell took a short breath before he went to the group with a soothing gesture.

"There, there, why this sudden uproar? It's quite normal for a culprit to be dressed all in back, especially at dusk. It would be too hasty to say that-"

"Ya don't know anythin' about it!" Heiji hissed from the side. He was still out of it, nothing remained of the cool poker fake of the investigator and yet Bell still tried to change his course.

"Why do you think that the clothes of the murderer is so important? In every cheap mystery novel the murderer always appears dressed in black. I really don't understand why it seems to be that relevant for you Hattori-keiji."

Heiji just ignored Bell's question, he knew that behind the confused and bewildered eyes of the American simple calculation was hidden, along with a tinge of nervousness. He observed a tiny drop of sweat seeking its way from Bell's neck to the collar of his shirt. It was as if the professor was searching frantically for an excuse to distract him from his suspicions.

'But why?'

He eyed him skeptically, just as he tried to figure him out, Megure approached him from behind to whisper something in his ear.

"He's right Heiji-kun… it doesn't mean it's them, we should really continue our interrogation."

Heiji had already opened his mouth to object, before he stubbornly closed it again. Stubborn, he turned away from Bell, who still observed the whole thing with an innocent air. Heiji closed his eyes, nodded reluctantly, letting Megure continue.

Bell's gaze stuck on his old friend, it was hard for him to see him like this. He knew that Heiji tortured himself because he believed that he was just losing _the_ chance to find the organization. Shinichi swallowed, he didn't like doing that do him, but he knew it was for the best… for all of them. Even if he had thought that it would be easier to lie to his friend. With a sigh he put his head back, saw into the bright blue sky over Tokyo. Since it was Bell and not Shinichi being back in Japan, he couldn't do anything but observe the life from everyone around him from the distance.

A bitter smile got lost on his lips. He once again had managed to make himself prisoner to his own character, the phantom which his mind had made up now had the power over him and instead of doing what he wanted to, he could only lie. Shinichi gulped, he could feel the slight shaking of his hands.

He was still Conan, no mask, no FBI or lie of this world could change that.

* * *

 _Hey my dear readers,_

 _Thanks for your amazing feedback last time!_

 _I´m glad you enjoy my "little" story here._

 _So we´ve got Heiji on board and well… he saw through Shinichi before- so be sure that there is some trouble to come (along with Ran of course, someone has to take care of the Detective Boys after all XP)_

 _A big applause for Tobina who jumped in to beta the chapter in no time! Thank you! *cuddles*_

 _If someone would like to help out as a beta too, I´m still searching for some help !_

 _I hope you enjoyed the chapter._

 _Of course your reviews would be loved 3_

 _Till next time,_

 _Shelling~_


	7. 6 A stolen glance

**A stolen glance**

„Are you ready, Professor?"

„Huh?" Ripped from his thoughts, Bell looked up to them in surprise.

Megure nodded at Tome, who stood there quite miserable with slouched shoulders.

"That's all information Tome-san can offer, but if we're lucky, we might get some more form the witnesses that are waiting a few blocks away from here."

"I'm really sorry, Megure-keishi." That's just how he looked like. The postman didn't even dare to look up, feeling too pathetic and guilty.

"It's alright Tome-san, you tried your best. However, I have to remind you that you're not allowed to leave the city."

The man looked up surprised.

"Don't worry, that's nothing but routine. Well then, Mori-san will bring you home, so that you can get some rest."

The young postman nodded shortly, scuffing away from them with Kogoro at his side.

Takagi, along with everyone else, looked after the unlike pair.

"Poor guy…" he muttered, while Bell silently agreed with him.

"He loved her… without doubt."

Even before Takagi was able to take a glance at Bell or say something, the professor turned to Megure. "Well then Megure-keishi, let's see if the other witnesses will be more of a help in this case."

Megure nodded shortly, then he led the small group through the narrow streets.

XXX

But, just like expected the young mother wasn't able to tell them much either. She had seen the victim from time to time in the morning, when she was taking her little boy to school. All she could tell them, was that she had heard a loud bang that was very different from the usual sounds of the train. She got wary about it, since she didn't know what happened.

Shinichi leaned against the wall of a house with a yawn. He was standing a little bit apart from the group, which had assembled a few blocks away from the tracks.

His eyes darted to Megure, who was still bothering her with more questions that would probably lead to nothing, while Takagi took notes and Heiji listened dutifully, even though his true attention still lingered on Bell, how Shinichi noticed quite nervously.

He sighed silently. The spring sun was still burning mercilessly on his silicon face. Bell's glance wandered to the other side of the street to Megure's "half" of a witness, like the inspector called him, who tried himself - bored to death - as an artist. He was scratching small pictures into the dirt beside the street with a little twig. Bell spontaneously decided to join the little boy and crossed the little used street and sat down on the curbstone beside him.

"Quite boring, isn't it? I bet you've imagined the police to be a little more exciting, right?"

The small boy looked up to him with big eyes, inspecting him for a while, until he nodded disappointed. "Yeah… I thought there would be lots of emergency lights and guns, but all they do is talking. That' s boring."

The tone of the boy was slightly stubborn, as he moodily drew more lines into the dirt. Bell suppressed a cynical smile - of course the boy had had much higher expectations.

"I understand. So now you're disappointed, huh? I guess you do like cowboys better than police officers?"

The eyes of the child narrowed, his dirt triangles turned to restless circles."As if! They are just as stupid! A cowboy, who throws away his weapon is just as boring."

Bell's eyes grew big, a little smile flashed over his lips, his six sense hasn't fooled him. "Tell me boy, what's your name?"

"Me? My name is Kikume Tomoko."

Bell nodded friendly."That's a nice name. Mine is William Bell. So tell me Tomoko-kun, would you like it if we two would help the police a little?"

Tomoko`s eyes grew wide at the very thought of that. His gaze was stuck on Bell and the little twig fell forgotten to the ground.

"I? I can help?"

Bell nodded, stood up and looked at the boy from above."Sure - that means… if you're sure you can manage that?"

"Of course, I can! What should I do?" His eyes shone in excitement, Bell gave a pleased grin before he started to explain.

XXX

When Bell went back to their little group, Megure was still talking to the boy's mother.

"So, you haven't seen the murderer?"

"I've told you that already. I heard the shot and a few seconds later the poor guy by her side started screaming for help, so that I was busy calling for an emergency and the police." She explained again, slightly annoyed now.

"That means you can't give us any details about the man, or the weapon?"

"Glock 17, semiautomatic."

Composed, Bell took a step towards them, a mysterious smile on his lips that Megure could only counter with surprise.

"W-What? What are you talking about, Professor?"

"The weapon the murderer used was a semiautomatic, a Glock 17, 17c to be exact."

"Yeah, but how-"

The grin on Bell's lips only grew wider when he saw the startled expression on Megure's face, as he held up the plastic bag in which the pistol in it, he had hidden behind his back.

"What the-! Where did you found it, Professor Bell?"

Bell's smile grew soft, as if on command the little boy peeked out behind his legs.

"Tomoko! What are you doing!"

But the kid simply ignored his mother and stayed beside Bell rather satisfied with himself. They shared a grin, when he ruffled the boy's hair, while he answered Megure.

"The little boy and I decided to play detective for a while, isn't that right Tomoko-kun?"

The officers were even more stunned when the boy nodded until Bell finally decided to explain himself. "Sato-keibu told us that the boy has been talking about cowboys, well that left me thinking, so I decided to look into that and the little one told me what happened, right?"

Tomoko affirmed that and started to talk, happy that he finally had the attention of the adults.  
"What a stupid guy. I mean, which cowboy would throw away his weapon? I had thought the man was strange right from the beginning, when he had thrown his pistol away. I would have loved to get it out of the trash, but okaa-san told me that I had to go to school and I simply forgot about it later," the boy told them with a sheepish smile, while the grownups looked at him baffled.

Bell passed the weapon on to Megure, who stared at it like in trance. "And that's exactly where we found it. Lucky for us that the public garbage cans here are only emptied every second day."

Megure nodded automatically when he finally noticed what that meant.

"Off to the lab with that, Takagi!" he bellowed at Takagi, who took the weapon and sprinted to his car to hand it to the one of the officers waiting for them.

"Good work, Bell-san! Really!"

"Good work… indeed, Professor."

Shinichi felt Heiji's sharp tone crawling underneath his skin. He had watched the scene from the side with a skeptical gaze. Shinichi registered the compliment with a brief, friendly nod. It was useless to let himself be provoked by Heiji, it would only end in a catastrophe.

Heiji would have loved to simply punch this arrogant snob in the face to get him to tell them what he was hiding. He couldn't believe him to be _that_ good. He was hiding something, that was for sure. Everything he did seemed to be considered carefully. His sentences, actions and moves seemed to be studied, following a strict pan. And that of all things a professor for criminalistics, a childless one at that, would become skeptical because of the phantasies of a young boy seemed pretty strange to him.

In the meantime, Megure had dismissed Kikume and the little Tomoko, after he wasn't able to tell them more about the murderer, beside the black boots whereas he had thought that the man has to be a cowboy, even if a pretty dumb one. They should stay in the city, in case that they needed to contact them again. The boy waved at Bell one last time before he left them, holding hands with his mother.

"Your 'half'-witness was much more useful than we expected him to be, right Megure-keishi?" But Bell's arrogant tone got soft right away.

"Children's eyes often see different things than adults'. It's a mistake to underestimate them." He swallowed, didn't look up while he spoke. He had hoped that the officers had learned something from Conan back then, but it seemed that the dust of time had covered his tracks more than he thought.

He sighed, trying to ignore their glances on his skin, going back to the topic."Even though I fear that the finding of the weapon won't make things easier for us."

Megure blinked, because of the sudden change in mood, but answered Bell's statement, always under Heiji's stern gaze. "Right. It's questionable if we are about to find any usable traces on it," Megure grumbled while he rubbed his temple in annoyance, straightening his hat again before he continued.

"Altogether it seems to me that we aren't closer to figuring out who we're up against, unless the weapon will actually lead us directly to our culprit."

"That's not quite true."

"What?" Megure turned to both of them in surprise.

Hattori and Bell had spoken the sentence together like the push of a bottom, even their emphasis had been the same.

Shinichi cursed and avoided to look at Heiji while he tried to cover his mistake with a shy smile. "What is it you wanted to say, Hattori-keiji?"

But Heiji took his time, allowing himself a long scrutinizing glance at his new 'colleague' before he started to explain himself. "Both witnesses agreed in one thin'. Despite tha fact that they don't know each other, there was a consensus in their statement when it comes ta tha victim."

"What? Is that true, Takagi?" Megure looked to his officer, who was flipping through his notes a little confused, until Bell released him.

"The fact that - for example - Tome-san was surprised that she was there at all."

Takagi picked the hint up and finally found the right page. "Indeed, he also said that he hadn't met her on his way for a while now, even if it had been their habit to meet there, they hadn't met for quite some time."

"Right, and Kikume-san as well told us that she hadn't seen tha victim for a while." Heiji nodded, taking the lead now after Bell had meddled in again.

"I think it would be wise ta check that with her employer and her friends and family, but that only leads us ta tha conclusion that we're not chasin' a copycat." Heiji's voice grew darker.

"It's quite possible that he had watched her and her habits and knew that she would take this direction every morning. We know because of tha weapon and tha… clothes of tha murderer, that he must have planned ta attack his victim. If it's true that he had been followin' her for a while now…"

"She could have noticed it and changed her daily routine, her way to work to be exact," Megure deduced with an approving nod.

"Takagi, you're going to check that. Question her employer, her neighbors and whoever you'll find and tell me if there is a specific reason why she changed her way."

"Alright, keishi."

Megure's eyes wandered form Takagi back to their surroundings.

"It's really a quiet place here. There are not many people around and if the murderer had known about that, the location was almost predestinated to carry out the murder."

Heiji nodded, thoughtfully shoving his hands into the pockets of his jeans with a frown, while he leaned against the grey wall of the house. "However, what I don't understand is why he didn't just push her in front of tha train, that for sure would have been easier."

"That's exactly the riddle the murder wants us to solve."

"What do you mean by that, Professor?" Megure questioned with a raised eyebrow, allowing Bell to explain his statement.

"I'm afraid I have to explain this a little further, because this time our murderer really refers a bit more to Doyle's work. The story is set in Dartmoor, Holmes had been called there to solve the riddle about a missing racehorse. 'Silver star' to be exact, was one of the most famous racinghorses in the land and it was abducted while it seemed that its trainer got murdered. Holmes couldn't understand how it was possible to hide such a famous horse, so he accepted the case out of curiosity and worked on it together with Watson of course."

A small smile accompanied the explanations of the Professor. The way this guy talked about Holmes nearly choked Heiji, while Megure listened to the small story rather curious.

"But, the point is that the stable of the horse had been guarded by a dog and the fact that this dog _hadn't_ barked when someone took the horse away, finally lead Holmes on the right track."

Heiji nodded automatically, he finally knew where the American was getting at, but also was sure that Bell had known about that, right when they questioned the first victim.

'This guy has just been waiting for us ta ask this question for him ta rub his knowledge in. And of course, I had ta be the idiot ta get him what he wants.' Heiji swallowed, trying to ignore the image which came to his mind as he watched the professor's demeanor. He couldn't let the similarities fool him. There was something off about him - he was toying with them, giving them information when he saw fit, while he was hiding everything else behind his mysterious smile.

"There we've got our ' _mute dog',_ " Megure murmured, earning himself an angry glare form Heiji. It was as if the superintendant was eating out of Bell's palm already.

But Bell only nodded in approval, his tone getting earnest again."That's right. It's not important what happened in this case, but what 'didn' t' happen, though it could be overlooked at first glance."

His eyes focused on Heiji, who held his gaze while only raising an eyebrow in surprise.

'Huh, so ya're givin' me at least some credit?' He crossed his hands in front his chest in a hostile manner. Alright, he would humour this guy, but only since he wanted to know which game the professor was playing.

"Tha train," Heiji told them, without hiding his stubborn tone." Tha fact that he _hasn't_ thrown her in front of tha train, even if it would have been easier. That also ads up ta our speculation that he had been watching her. He must have prepared tha message tha day before, but that also means that he must have planned tha murder her in this location, at this time, with tha knowledge that the moment he was about ta kill her tha train would be approaching."

Bell ignored Heiji's sharp tone and nodded approvingly, but sober. "Exactly. The murderer wants to point out that the deed happed the way he planned it and nothing else." Bell pushed the glasses back on his nose, as he looked up solemnly.

"The only question is why…"

Megure nodded automatically, stared at the professor for a little while, before his features slowly formed themselves into an angry mask. "This guy has to be bats!"

Both detectives twitched as the volume of Megure's voice thundered down the street. This case seemed to be getting underneath the old officer's skin. No wonder with the whole press of Japan sitting in his neck, the fact that the murderer was toying with them didn't make it any better.

"Why the hell is he leaving riddles behind which only add up to more questions when they are solved, that's completely crazy!"

Bell couldn't hide a slightly ironic grin, which stole itself on his lips.

"It's like the good old 'Holmes' is trying to lure us on his tacks, but not without giving us a headache about it. It wouldn't suit him to hand the answers to us on a silver platter, no… he is toying with us. And maybe he's right - this sort of riddle would be to Holmes' liking."

While Megure only grumbled in annoyance, Heiji took the chance to answer Bell's quirky tone. "Say Professor, ya really seem ta be a big fan of Holmes yaself. I'm sure ya can empathize with our murderer perfectly fine, right?"

Megure was about to step in, before Heiji softened his tone. "Ya sure are perfect for this case, Bell-san."

While Heiji's sweet tone was able to delude Megure, Bell knew perfectly well what the detective from Osaka was aiming for, but Heiji only smiled at the stern gaze of the American.

"Well, despite tha doubtless brilliant work of Professor Bell, we still don't know enough. For example, why tha murderer has chosen a different weapon this time. That's rather unusual for a serial killer, beside he left tha weapon at tha crime scene twice now, what is reckless so ta say and we still didn't find a connection between tha victims. There is also tha fact that everythin' we know is just a hypothesis, not built on straight evidence."

But instead drawing Bell out, he had to observe how the professor just shrugged, digging his hands into the pockets of his trousers before he spoke in a calm voice, totally unfazed. "You're right Hattori-keiji, but that's what makes this case so special, after all. Besides, if each case would be so easy to solve you would lose your job, eh?"

With that and a not so well-hidden smile, Shinichi left the officers while he stepped ahead to their car.

XXX

Back at the police headquarters they summarized what they got. Megure pushed the guys form the lab to hurry with the weapon, but was fobbed off with a simple "we do what we can".

They put up a plan for the next day. Megure assigned Bell and Heiji to interview the friends and family of both victims. Shinichi knew very well that Heiji was certainly not amused to would accompany him as his personal babysitter, but his old friend contained himself and bid Bell farewell politely.

He sighed. Searching his way out of the building, he went a little earlier on purpose since he figured that Hattori wanted to talk to Megure in private. His shoulders sagged a little when he exhaled. He only now noticed how tense he had been the whole time. That really wasn't a good start for Hattori and Bell.

It was strange… different from Conan back then. On one hand he could talk to everyone about his thoughts about the case, on the other hand he felt much more disconnected from everyone he had once known. To see them again without being able to talk to them like he used to - especially when it came to Heiji it felt strange. His role as Conan had definitely been easier to him than Bell, at least here in Japan.

Right now it felt like Bell and Conan were struggling for superiority, while Shinichi himself was nothing but a silent witness, one with wishes and needs, but without the power to reach them.

He swallowed, shaking his head. He really should worry about other things right now than the fact that his alter ego Kudo Shinichi had long since got choked under a layer of silicon. His eyes darkened while he went through the nearly empty halls of the headquarters. Not many officers were busy running around while Bell crossed the corridor, lost in his thoughts.

'The organization could be involved in this case.'

Shinichi bit his lips, if that was true he had to inform the FBI, he probably should have done that by now.

And yet he hadn't.

He opened the door to step out of the building, taking a deep breath of the early evening air.

He wouldn't say anything, as long as no one seemed to be in danger while he was following the track. Because if… _if_ the organization really was involved in this case it was his chance.

His chance to finally end this nightmare.

His chance to get his life back.

And… maybe also the chance to finally tell _her_ what he had been waiting to tell her for over ten years now. The possibility that she might still be waiting for him, alone with only a little hope left that he might return to her left a dull shine to his eyes.

'Ran…'

His thoughts suddenly got disturbed, when he heard something that made him forget that they ever existed.

"Really, Ran! You didn't have to come with me."

"Please Kazuha-chan, allow me to. After all we haven't seen each other for a while now." She objected with a sunny laugh.

A laughter that made Shinichi's heart stop.

He stood still electrified. Even if he had wanted to move, his body refused to listen, even his lungs wouldn't move. Shinichi pressed his eyes shut, didn't dare to look around the corner to the parking area, where those cheerful voices were coming from. Too big was his fear that it was only his imagination, catching up with him in the middle of the day, so that her picture would vanish in white mist without him being able to hold onto it. He stood very still, like he was afraid to scare away a shy animal, still listening to the voices of both women in disbelief.

"This guy is late, _again!_ " Kazuha protested.

"Summoning me to this place just to let me wait, typical Heiji!"

You could tell that the offended tone of her voice was much more put-on than real, but her friend was still willing to mediate.

"Oh come on Kazuha, you knew that the conference could take longer, so what? Maybe they found something that will help to catch this guy!"

Shivering, he pressed his hand over his mouth, pressing his back closer to the wall of the building, when he heard her voice again. His breath was shallow and labored. Shinichi closed his eyes, willing to gain control of himself again, but it was pointless.

Her picture, her name, and her voice… was all that controlled his thought's.

Ran.

He slowly put his hand down. His fingers quivered, cold sweat had formed on his palms. Shinichi clenched his teeth, gibed the dull scream inside him that wanted nothing more than to go to her, tell her what had happened, to reveal his thoughts, his feelings, which had never changed, were still the same… after all this time.

He gulped, suddenly felt a lump forming in his throat, which hadn't been there before. The cold wall in his back intensified his shivers.

He would say nothing.

He couldn't even ask her how she was…

Let alone to reveal everything to her, to wash the lies away that were sticking to his soul like dark black tar.

Never.

Never had he been further form telling her.

She didn't even know him now.

Actually, Bell didn't knew her either.

He swallowed bitterly, glancing to the floor while he could still hear both women talking in the distance, laughing once in a while.

Her words and her laughter, her presence alone made him numb, practically glued his shoes to the asphalt.

He knew just too well that he should just walk past them, maybe greet them with a friendly smile and be on his way home.

But he simply couldn't.

He suddenly felt naked, the wall which he carefully had build around himself these past ten years to hide form his own feelings and his own past broke down by her voice alone.

He was scared - scared that in his current state one glance alone would be enough for her to recognize him. He knew that it was impossible, all his fears pointless and yet he couldn't get his legs to take this step, getting on the stage to act William Bell' part like he was supposed to.

Shinichi twitched again when he heard her again, together with Kazuha's laughter.

Ran's voice went through his whole body and made him shiver. He couldn't just stand there in silence or turn around with the knowledge that she was only a view steps from him.

'No…'

He needed to take a look… if only to see her again.

Shinichi had no time to reconsider his wish, all his movements happened automatically, his body was controlled by something which now screamed louder than his mind. It made him move like a puppet on its strings, taking him closer to the wall. The stones where digging themselves into his back, but he didn't feel any of it, while he was moving closer to the corner of the building in which's shadow he was still hiding.

Sneaky, like a thief in the night, who wanted to steal a single picture to keep it to himself, he was waiting there. The corner of the wall right in front his nose. From the shadows he could see little pieces of dust dancing in the light, which created the invisible boarder of his hiding place, he only needed to turn his head a little in order to see her.

No FBI, no witness protection program, not thousands of kilometers that where separating them.

Just one little movement and he would be able to see her.

Shinichi couldn't feel the single beats of his heart any longer, they'd melded to one hum long ago. While he slowly turned his head, light was shining in his face little by little. It blinded him until the white dot's vanished from his eyes, so that the sun finally offered her picture to him.

Ran was sitting beside Kazuha on a small bench, the parking place of the headquarters behind them. Shinichi could see that they still were talking to each other, but he wasn't following their conversation any longer.

Her sight alone was everything dominating his senses along with his mind.

The young leaves of the threes under which they were sitting where covering the silhouette of the young women in light and shadow. Shinichi could feel himself getting warm, the cold inside him was suddenly gone and behind Bell's fake face rested a slight tinge of rosé, which desperately wanted to reach the sunlight.

She was beautiful.

Her brown hair flowed down her shoulders, embracing her gently painted face. Her eyes shone every time the sunlight caught them, the lilac suit she was wearing seemed alive beneath the dance of shadow and light.

A smile rested on her lips.

Her smile.

The smile, he had missed so much…

A smile, he had feared that he had broken it forever.

Shinichi gulped, a gentle shiver wandered through his body, while his lips hesitantly mirrored her serene expression.

He`d love to stop time just for this very moment, to enjoy it a little longer, because it was more than he had ever hoped for these past years.

But father time was merciless as ever.

Because only a second after he had looked around the corner, she looked up - her gaze doubtlessly wandering in his direction.

'Darn it!'

He turned around in panic, gasping for air, while he squinched his eyes shut, waiting for her to pull him out of his dark hiding place to confront him.

For a view seconds the loud drumming of his heart was everything he noticed, it felt like it would jump out of his chest any second now. Shinichi tried to ignore his trembling, he put his head back, looking into the blue sky above Tokyo from the shadows, when he finally noticed that she wasn't coming for him.

But the expected relief never came.

The secret smile he had shared with her faded from his lips, leaving a deep scar behind.

'Shit!'

He closed his eyes, trying to suppress his feelings, to forget everything in order to create an emptiness, which at least wouldn't hurt so much.

But it wasn't that easy.

He was behaving like a criminal, watching her silently form the darkness, to disappear back into his hole when he thought that she could discover him.

'Pathetic… the whole thing is nothing but pathetic.'

His breath was quivering, Shinichi could feel his heart clenching at the very thought of his behavior.

False, insidious and cowardly.

Shinichi bit his lips, welcoming the nearly redeeming pain until he finally tasted blood. He had the feeling that dust and dirt were deep in each pore of his skin, it was gross. Watching her in secret was really reaching the limit of his previous actions.

He felt rotten and disgusting.

His breath was unsteady, cold sweat was sticking his shirt to his back and only doubled the oppressive feeling in his chest. He had really managed to create someone even more vicious than Conan, whom he already despised just as much.

He hadn't had much of a choice back then, he had stayed close to Ran without her knowing it, because he had no other option.

Bell however was different.

He was lurking behind a wall, hiding himself in the dark only to get a furtive glance at her, not because he had to… but because he _wanted_ to.

Shinichi shuddered, disgusted of himself. It was nasty, downright perverted towards Ran…. He swallowed. To call his behavior "unfair" would put it lightly. Shinichi's eyes dulled, his fingers digging deeper into his clenched fists.

With Bell he really had managed to outdo the little four-eyed brat.

'Well done, Kudo… really.'

* * *

Hey everyone!

I´m sorry that I´m a little late! Thank you so much for your last reviews, I truly loved them! I regret that I wasn´t able to answer to them, but work had been a killer for the past weeks. I hope the chapter is going to make up for it- an of course it´s not the last we´ve seen of Ran, things are only getting started ^^

A big thank you to lovely **Beta** Tobina! I you don´t know her stories yet go check them out!

I hope you had fun with the chapter and of course it would be nice of you to leave a review behind.

I wish you a nice day,

Till next time,

Shelling ~


	8. 7 Old friend - New foe

**Old friend - New foe**

* * *

'Such a damn creep!'

Heiji swallowed. He had to hold himself back in order not to dash off to hit the professor straight into his delicate face, while said man was watching Ran and Kazuha. No, his fist had to wait a bit until he could allow it to find its target. Instead, he was nervously biting his lips.

He had stopped short in his tracks the moment he had seen what this guy was doing. He could see both parties from his hiding spot - Bell as well as Kazuha and Ran, who apparently weren't even aware of the fact that someone was watching them. He had been about to cross the west door of the headquarters, when he'd noticed that Bell was staring at the two women. His first reaction was to pull him out of his hiding place to confront him, but he restrained himself, knowing that it would be better to observe the strange American for now, since this bastard wasn't likely to tell him why he was chasing his wife and friend!

The thought caused anger to crawl up his throat, his clenched fists nearly shook while he was flatting his nose at the door of the headquarters. Trembling in rage, he tried to calm his breathing, so that the glass door in front of him wouldn't fog up too much, allowing him a clear view. He was glad that it was already this late, so that no one disturbed his observation, but on the other hand no one was disturbing _him_ either.

He gritted his teeth, his eyes still resting on Bell, who now had turned away from the two females, pressing close to the wall to make sure that he couldn't be seen. Just how much he wanted to tell the women what was happening right now. For sure they would give the professor hell, but in the end that wouldn't get them anywhere.

Heiji sighed. It annoyed him, but he had to admit that it was better to keep his mouth shut for the time being. Towards Kazuha and Ran as well as the criminalist, who obviously was hiding something from them. The young officer's eyes narrowed while he was watching Bell, who wasn't moving at all right now.

'That guy has more than one skeleton in his closet, that's for sure, but what tha heck is tha point ta all of this?'

That was what he had tried to explain to Megure-keishi as well, but even if the superintendent wasn't a good friend of Bell yet, he wasn't as reluctant towards him as before either.

XXX

"Don't you think that you're overacting a little, Heiji-kun?", Megure questioned carefully, after the young man had noisily voiced his worries about the American, but again he just earned himself an angry glare.

"Come again?!"

"Well…", the superintendent began, avoiding Heiji's gaze while collecting his notes of the previous conference more carefully than necessary.

"… I know that the whole... matter back then was really hard on you and not just you, but I guess you know that much." Megure sighed, rubbing the back of his neck while hesitantly peeking up at Heiji, who had been wandering back and forth and now stood with his back to him, hands buried deep into his pockets.

"I just fear that you're too obsessed with this. God knows, I'm not happy that we have to keep up with this guy here, but you can't deny that he's bringing results."

"Sure, but for a reason!", Heiji spat.

"What if this guy really knows more about tha case than he let's on? Of course he would be able ta pull deductions out of his hat just like that!" Heiji forcefully hit the conference table with his flat hand, his eyes were holding an angry spark until he remembered who he was speaking to, ruefully trying to get his temper under control.

"I just don't trust him!"

"Neither do I, Heiji-kun," Megure answered frankly.

"Why else would I only send him out with you at his side?" He raised a questioning eyebrow, looking at the young police officer, but Heiji just ignored the mark of confidence Megure offered towards him and turned to the window instead. But the view of the grey neighboring complex that could be seen between the once white curtains, wasn't really suited to lift his spirits.

"Ya've heard him."

Heiji's words were barely more than a rough hiss, which as quiet as it was still trembled.

"Huh?" Megure had no clue what his colleague from Osaka was talking about, until the earnest green eyes rested on him again, once Heiji had turned back towards him.

"Ya've heard how hard he tried ta distract us from tha fact that tha murderer was dressed all in black." The hateful shiver in Heiji's voice let Megure study him in worry. The face of the young inspector was grim. The events of the past still seemed to stick to him more than Megure had thought. The old superintendent knew that Heiji couldn't let go of that case, he was still chasing shadows whenever he saw them, the bad aftertaste of the events lingering on his tongue even after all this time.

"Heiji-kun…", he started warily, searching for the right words for a while until a honking car disturbed his thoughts. "You can't come to the rushed conclusion that he is related to the past just because of such a little detail."

"And why not?!" The inspector's voice wavered in anger, a dangerous gleaming in his eyes, while he empathized his words with erratic gestures.

"Tha guy is comin' out of nowhere, thinkin' he's oh so clever, while he's withholdin' details of tha case from us, until it suits him ta tell us about them ta leave us standing there like complete idiots. Oh, and what a surprise!", he hissed sarcastically. "Our dear professor knows Holmes just as good as our murderer! Stop, don't argue with me that that's tha reason he's here for! If he really would be willin' ta help us, we wouldn't need to worm tha information out of his nose. And one thin' is for sure, he _was_ distractin' us from tha black clothes! By that time, Bell was nervous and stiff, gaspin' for air like someone was choking him when ya questioned him about it. If ya're askin' me then-"

"But I'm not asking you, Hattori-kun."

Megure's strict words where accompanied by the creak of his chair; he stood up again, and put Heiji in his place with nothing but one look.

"We're not doing a ghost hunt, Heiji-kun. You'll work together, is that clear?"

"But-"

"No buts!" Megure's tone was strident.

"You two will work together." His eyes were fixating Heiji. "Is that clear, Hattori-keiji."

Heiji's mouth stood open before he stubbornly bit his lips, turning away from Megure with a short nod.

Megure mirrored the nod tiredly, putting his papers back into his folder without a sound, to tug it underneath his arm, together with his jacket. His eyes wandered back to the officer by his side, only to grow a little darker at the sight of him.

Heiji was still staring down at the overused linoleum floor, his hands were curled to stubborn fists, which still couldn't catch what the twenty-seven-year-old was hunting for so long. He swallowed, stepping back from the table to make his way to the door, before he stopped beside Heiji. His voice was rough, both men didn't look at each other while Megure was talking. Both of them knew that Megure's words weren't addressed to the current case or their argument any longer.

"I'm sorry, Heiji-kun."

The inspector pressed his eyes shut in an repulsive manner, he could feel how his fists started to shake again, while he could hear how the door fell shut behind the superintendent, leaving him alone.

XXX

Heiji snorted in anger, causing the glass in front of his nose to get fogged again.

'Ya should see him now, Megure-keishi! I bet ya would think different of your Holmes-expert now.' Heiji's eyes still rested on Bell, who was still standing rigid against the wall of the building. At least this ass didn't seem to have the guts to peek around the corner any longer, that would be even better if-

"What?"

Suddenly life seemed to get back into the American. Heiji watched how the shoulders of the professor squared, before he moved back into the police headquarters, doubtlessly to use the back doors instead.

'Well, well - look who knows his way around here quite good.' But Heiji's focus moved back to Kazuha and Ran. What reason could Bell have to avoid walking past them? For sure it wasn't just his bad conscience because of his eavesdropping.

'I'll see through your little game professor… ya bet on it.'

XXX

"Hm?"

"Is somethin' wrong, Ran-chan?" Kazuha questioned her friend, whose attention wasn't on their conversation any more, but on the entrance of the police station she was still staring at, when she finally shook her head with a dull smile and turned herself around to face Kazuha on the small bench.

"No, it's nothing - I just thought that – never mind." A sheepish smile formed itself on Ran's lips, while Kazuha gave her a confused look, before she let it go and instead entered their conversation again.

"Anyway, it's perfect that ya're free for tha next days. That way we can plan somethin' together with Sonoko, just us girls."

Ran nodded, but her smile was weary. "Sure, but don't you think you have to talk to _him_ about that first?"

"Huh?"

Due to the hint of her friend, Kazuha turned around to face the police headquarters, finally able to see who was storming towards them.

"Heiji!"

Kazuha rose, making a step towards him when she saw that he didn't respond to her smile. "What happened?" She reached for him, both caring and anxious, but flinched back at his hard gaze. "Heiji? What-"

"Do ya know someone of tha name "William Bell", Kazuha?"

"What? Who?" Kazuha scrambled to follow his train of thought, but stared at him in confusion, so that Heiji turned to Ran instead, annoyed that he didn't get his answer right away.

"What about ya Ran-chan? Do ya know him?" The young woman looked at him puzzled, before she shook her head no, about to ask what was up, when Kazuha cut her short.

"Wait a second… ya mean this American professor, tha one who's helpin' with tha case right? William Bell, tha author? Don't tell me ya're really workin' with him Heiji? If that's so, ya totally have ta get me an autograph from him."

"ARE YA NUTS!?"

Both women twitched as Heiji's angry voice echoed like thunder over the empty parking space. His nostrils were dangerously wide, while he looked at Kazuha like she just asked him to throw away his Ellery Queen collection. Ran was about to raise from her seat to prevent the upcoming fight or at least mediate, but it was far too late for that already, since like usual Kazuha knew perfectly well how to deal with Heiji's mood.

"Ya're one ta talk! For real now, if someone lost his mind it's ya, Heiji! Or what is tha meaning of all of this? First ya're asking us ta come here ta get ya, only ta let us wait all dressed up with nowhere ta go and now ya're going all macho on me just because of this guy?"

Heiji was already taking a deep breath to respond in kind.

Ran on the other hand couldn't keep a little grin from her lips, while she observed the fighting couple. The both of them would never change. A quiet sigh escaped her, accompanied by a tired smile. 'I just can't help it.'

She turned her gaze away from them, looking to the ground while she tried to smoothen out her skirt that was neat anyway. She knew she had to get over it already. To let go. It just wasn't possible that he still dominated her mind like this.

Was she really that weak?

That naïve?

That silly?

Ran tried to swallow, only to notice that her field of vision got blurry all of sudden. 'It seems, I am.'

Especially today she got carried away by her emotions.

She really had thought that someone had been watching her… that _he_ had been watching her. At least her pounding heart had suggested that much. Ran sighed again shaking her head, annoyed by her own weakness and foolishness, and looked up at the still arguing couple again.

Her eyes gliding to the small silver ring on Kazuha's finger, she tried a smile, but failed since it couldn't wash her sorrow away, which lay upon her eyes like a dusty curtain.

It wasn't easy for her to admit, but she couldn't deny that it were her friends from Osaka who caused her to be that rattled yet again. Even if it was rather unfair to blame them.

It wasn't their fault after all.

It wasn't their fault that they showed her how life could have been for her and yet she always had those painful situations, especially with Heiji, whose mimic and gestures were just too much like _him_.

But Heiji knew it.

And that was part of the main problem, since he didn't want to hurt her, he tried to avoid her if necessary.

Ran didn't want him to think about that all the time. She knew that he was missing his best friend just as much. He really did. Because Heiji had followed his tracks, he had analyzed and ruled out everything and anything, until he'd found his goal, but wasn't willing to believe it in the end.

And yet, he had to accept it.

Since he had eliminated the impossible and whatever remains, however improbable, had to be the truth. That weren't only Holmes words, but Shinichi's as well and wether he wanted or not, he had to acknowledge it.

What else could he do?

After all, he hadn't the proof Ran herself had. She had tried to share her believe with the back then high-schooler, but he had refused to let any new glimmer of hope come up. And that had remained until today.

So, the only proof that the Osakan detective had to be wrong was nothing but a feeling deep inside her, were she put all her hope into.

Stupid, naïve, silly or not, this feeling wouldn't go away.

She couldn't fight against it and maybe that was the reason why the typical argument of the couple made her feel so low. She looked up with a weary smile. Those two were still bickering back and forth and it was rather obvious that the reason for their argument was long forgotten, so Ran thought it was time give them a short reminder to finally end this brawl.

She got up from the bench, making a step towards them.

"Say Heiji-kun, what do you want with this Bell? I mean, there has to be a reason for you to ask about him?" Ran had reached her goal. Heiji and Kazuha stopped their fight, to share a confused glance towards her. She didn't doubt that both of them hadn't been aware in the last few minutes that she had witnessed their argument. All the more she was pleased to see that her maneuver was working just fine.

Still angry, but much calmer, Kazuha questioned her husband as well. "She's right, what on earth has Bell done ta ya that ya're so fixated on him?"

Heiji had already opened his mouth to answer Ran, but closed it shut again after this question. Kazuha could feel how he was avoiding her gaze, his thin lips told her everything, even when his words tried to tell her a different story.

"Forget about it… it wasn't important anyway."

But not only Kazuha noticed that something was wrong with him. The deep silence between the couple didn't go unnoticed by Ran, so she tried to change the topic as smooth as possible. "How are the investigations going, Heiji-kun? Dad complained about it quite a lot."

The young officer seemed relieved about the change of subject, but gave her a worried nod as he finally made the first steps towards the parking lot, knowing that both women were about to follow.

"Mori has every reason ta complain! Tha second murder, this Bell persona and now tha kids…" he sighed.

"We really have ta solve this crime under difficult circumstances."

"What?"

Ran had stopped short on her way to the car and Heiji and Kazuha had to turn around to face the shocked expression of their friend.

"What did you just say, Heiji-kun?"

Hattori put his hands down, which he casually had crossed behind his head until know, and tried to take a placating step towards her.

"I told ya that tha investigations aren't easy under these circumstances." He tried for a neutral tone, but he knew that Ran had looked right through him already. She simply acted like she hadn't heard his answer.

"Genta-kun, Mitsuhiko-kun and Ayumi-chan? But why? Why are they involved?" Ran stiffened, her hand unconsciously covered her mouth, while she whispered her next question through her fingers. "They didn't find… the victim… did they?"

"No, no! That's not it!" But Heiji didn't know how much his words would be able to calm her.

"Don't worry about them, Ran-chan! Bell picked them up somehow and brought them along. He thought due ta their preference for Holmes they would be helpful for this case." Heiji tried for an innocent smile, but despite all his aversion of Bell, he knew those three well enough to be sure that the whole thing had happened differently.

He sighed soundlessly, avoiding the eyes of both Ran and Kazuha.

'Ya really toughed them too much, Kudo.'

But when Heiji looked up again, he still could see the worry craved into Ran's features. "Honestly, Ran-chan, ya don't have ta worry about them!", he tried to convince her. "I'll keep an eye on them after all and who knows - maybe those three really will be able ta help with this case."

"True, since ya don't have a clue about Holmes!" Kazuha grinned, linked arms with her friend while she perfectly ignored Heiji's offended face.

"So, after ya've asked us ta come here only ta let us wait for hours, it's only fair that ya're takin' us out for dinner, right? We're going ahead. Here ya've got tha pay ticket, tha counter is a little further ahead. See ya later!"

"Wait! What?" Baffled, Heiji looked after the receding women, until he took a relieved breath when he could hear both of them laughing in the distance. He was fine with them amusing themselves at his expense as long as it lightened up the mood.

'Thank ya, Kazuha.'

With a broad smile he hurried to pay the ticket, while the two women happily made their way to the car.

"So Ran? What's tha plan for tomorrow?"

"Huh? But Kazuha, what's with Heiji-kun and-" But Kazuha interrupted her. "Now now, we really deserve a few peaceful days just for us girls, don't ya think?"

Her friend silently looked down at her feet, before she spoke. "I'm afraid that's not going to work, Kazuha."

"What – but, Ran?"

But when Kazuha saw the distress in Ran's eyes when she looked up, pared with her apologizing smile, she finally understood. She nodded, while Ran's lips formed a voiceless "Thank you", but now it was Kazuha's turn to look worried.

'I just hope that ya know what ya're doin' Ran. I know that ya only want ta help… but I fear this case won't do ya any good.'

XXX

The evening ended cheerfully. Ran, who naturally knew Tokyo by heart, had led them into a nice restaurant, which's menu card the couple from Osaka didn't know in and out just yet, despite their frequent visits. Repleted and satisfied they departed from each other, so that Kazuha and Heiji finally arrived at their hotel, where they had settled in yesterday.

Her husband had - not unnoticed by Kazuha – disappeared into their bedroom to leave her to her fate in in their sparsely furnished living room.

But he wouldn't get away that easily. Calculating, she put on the TV. She only had to wait a few seconds, before she was able to sneak into the bedroom herself.

She found him on their shared bed, his jacket lay messy on the bed cover and it didn't seem that he was about to clean up soon. It looked like he was watching the nightly bustling on Tokyo's streets, on which he would have a nice view if the curtains of the window, through that he seemed to be looking, weren't pulled shut.

Kazuha let herself down beside him, observing his features she knew so well with worry. She knew that Heiji probably hadn't noticed her yet. His green eyes had a dark glimmer in them, his puckered brows were only the last sing which told her that something was wrong. Kazuha sighed, she knew what this face meant. Carefully she tried to elicit him out of his thoughts, trying to spin a red thread with her words, so that he would find his way out of the labyrinth of his mind, without him getting lost along the way.

She took his hand and felt how he twitched beneath her touch. Just now he recognized her presence, turned to her, but didn't say a word.

"Ya didn't wear yar ring, Heiji." She delicately put the jewelry in his hand, but he heard the silent accusation in her voice, even if she didn't really mean it, because he chose to. After all, it was far easier to argue than to have the conversation she was aiming for.

"So, what? I just forgot ta put it on." Stubborn like a child, he pulled his hand away from hers, still avoiding her gaze, especially when Kazuha wasn't answering with quite the anger he had hoped for.

Of course, her voice held some reproach, but that couldn't overlay the worry in it. "Let alone that it's yar wedding ring, which ya should wear anyway, ya know quite well why it's so important for me that ya at least carry it with ya." A pleading "please" echoed mute and unspoken in her words.

He swallowed, he knew she was right.

That's why it normally was on his finger all the time, even though he had left it on the washbasin in his hurry this morning, he usually wasn't so careless. It was a symbol both of them shared since they were children after all. He might have teased her a few times because of her superstition, but he perfectly knew how important it was for her, even when he had hoped that she wouldn't make such a fuss about it back then.

But of course, Kazuha had noticed it, going all mad-drama-queen on him.

Sure, if he would have explained it to her, that the goldsmith took his time to meld the tiny pieces of the handcuffs to some acceptable jewelry, she would have understood, but he couldn't, since his proposal was supposed to be a surprise. A surprise that was successful after all, though she still teased him that it was a wonder that both of them got to their wedding alive. The talisman really brought them both good luck.

He sighed, taking the small piece of jewelry out f the palm of his hand and put it back on his left ring finger, before he looked up to her resigned.

"Happy now?"

"Very!" She smiled, but Heiji already guessed that she would not leave it alone and he was proven right.

"Maybe that was tha reason ya've had such a bad day. Because ya didn't have it with ya."

He looked at her, just wanted to disagree, but she shook her head to cut him off. "Come on Heiji, don't tell me it isn't true! So what has this Bell done ta ya for ya ta be so worked up. Don't look at me like that, I know ya Heiji, ya're usually not like that."

Heiji swallowed, lowering his gaze, but Kazuha could see on his balled fists that he was fighting with himself, until he finally spoke.

"Somehow… somehow I thought that - he's… just like him."

He bit his lips, pushing himself up in a sudden movement before Kazuha could reach out for him. He started pacing up and down in the small aisle between the bed and the window. His voice wavered and showed how upset he truly was.

"I- just for a second I really thought that he-" Heiji cursed himself, touching his forehead only to feel cold sweat covering it. The thought alone that he had believed it could be _him,_ now created a cynical smile on his lips.

He was such a damn idiot!

"I don't get it, Kazuha! I'll never learn! I was blinded by this guy, even though he's clearly not quite what he seems ta be. Just tha opposite. If ya ask me, we could put this Bell on tha top of our list of suspects for this case."

'Even more…'

But he pushed back this thought. Heiji knew very well how allergic his wife reacted to this special topic. Even her understanding put a line there, instead becoming fear, which only was accompanied by anger.

He sighed, changing the direction of his steps again, while his hands were digging for an answer in the pockets of his trousers, but the result only slowed down his steps.

"Somethin' is definitely wrong with this guy, he's hidin' quite a bit, I'm sure of it." But Heiji's determination vanished fast. Deflated , he let himself sink onto the soft mattress beside Kazuha. His gaze seemed as broken as his voice. "But, maybe I'm just chasin' ghosts again, Kazuha."

'What?'

Her eyes restlessly scanned his features. It was rare, very rare that Heiji allowed her such a deep insight of his thoughts. Even as his wife, the moments when he wasn't the cool detective where quite scarce.

She knew that the sudden doubt Heiji felt wasn't only caused by today. This seed had been growing inside of him for the past ten years, without someone holding the weed in check, least of all himself.

She had to stop it, once and for all.

"Say, are ya crazy, Heiji?" Her voice caught his attention immediately, surprised and a little bit shocked he looked towards her.

"W-What?"

"If ya believe that this guy is fishy, then ya have ta look into it! Since when are ya givin' up so easily? Especially not because of some random stranger, no way!" She put her hands on her hips and glared at him, while Heiji could only blink at the sudden outburst of his wife. He hadn't expected that it would put Kazuha in such a rage.

"But, Kazuha-"

"No, no but's mister."

He didn't get a say in this, all his attempts to calm his wife back down seemed to be fruitless.

"How would it look like if Hattori-keiji would give up just like that? Pff… no, that's out of question." Her rant went on, until it finally got to much for the young man, so that he put a stop to it in a rather rough tone himself.

"Kazuha, stop it already."

But she still refused to listen to him.

"Ya'll stick yar nose into it, until ya've figured it out, just like ya usually do."

"That's enough!"

His voice got louder, but even that wasn't enough to stop her - how could it be. Kazuha was in full low, she was about to start again until he finally found the right remedy to stop her.

"Ya will-"

But she never finished her sentence.

His lips suddenly rested on hers, not only taking her breath away, but also the possibility to continue. Heiji kissed her, buried his hands in her soft hair, until he noticed that her tense state softened beneath his fingertips. Only then he broke the kiss, her taste still lingering on his lips.

Kazuha only looked at him perplexed, only understood when a soft smile appeared on his lips.

"Thank ya."

Both of them blushed for a moment, until Kazuha thought of something to lighten up the strange situation.

"There's no need ta thank me, Heiji and beside-", she lay her hands around his neck with a smug smile, holding him close to her. So close, Heiji could feel her soft breath ghosting against his skin.

"Ya know how ya can return tha favor."

Kazuha gave him a meaningful grin and Heiji reflected it.

"Indeed, I know."

He leaned towards her, closing his eyes, until he could feel her lips on his own again. She kissed back, before they broke apart again and she carefully caressed his cheek. Her voice was barley more than a whisper, tickling his ear.

"Well then… good night!"

Heiji suppressed a cynical grin, wiggling himself from her hug to push himself up from the bed.

"Thank ya _very_ much," he huffed, while Kazuha only giggled in amusement, falling back into the pillows with a tired smile, looking after him while he made his way into the living room.

He stopped himself in the doorframe, watching how his wife put the bedcover aside only to cover herself from head to toe beneath the blanket.

Suddenly he wasn't so sure if that had been such a good deal, truth to be told he only exchanged one sleepless night with another.

"But tomorrow it's yar turn again!" he grumbled, grabbing himself a pillow, knowing very well that he would spend most of the time on the couch anyway.

Heiji couldn't hide a small grin. She really had outsmarted him this time. Carefully he shut the bedroom door behind himself. When he noticed that the TV was still on, he decided to look for a warm glass of milk. Maybe that would help, so that he at least would catch a few hours of sleep.

And tomorrow he would do what Kazuha had told him to.

'Figurin' out what this suspicious Bell really is doin' here.'

* * *

 _ **Hey!**_

 _ **Thank you all so much for your reviews ! I hope you'll like this chapter aswell ^^**_

 _ **And of course a big thank's to my lovely beta Tobina- who is truly awesome!**_

 _ **I would love to hear your thoughts about the chapter again**_ **(**)!**

 _ **See you next month~**_

 _ **Yours,**_

 _ **Shelling** _


	9. 8 Unspoken

8\. Unspoken

Shinichi took Bell's glasses from his nose, polishing the lenses in circling motions with a sigh, trying to keep his thoughts in check.

Ten minutes had already passed, and Hattori still kept him waiting.

Their meeting point, like yesterday, were the police headquarters and Bell was supposed to wait here for him, so that they could leave together to visit the friends, family and employers of the victims. All of them who were mourning, crying over their loss, but prime suspects none the less for the murders.

Lovely, just the sort of conversation he needed after yesterday.

He sighed again, shifting his weight from one foot to another, while he tried not to look at his wristwatch again.

Heiji was, without question, late and Shinichi didn't doubt that this behavior was supposed to show him in a more or less subtle way who was the boss here. And yet, he couldn't care less about that. If Heiji wanted to push him around he was fine with it. Bell would follow him as subtle as possible and simply do his work.

It wasn't as if he had any another choice and the only thing he wanted, as bitter as it was to admit for Shinichi, was to leave this country as soon as possible.

To see what might have been, to get a glimpse of a life he wasn't longer part of, was far worse than to be in New York and just dream about this life.

He swallowed.

Their 'encounter' from yesterday still let his heart ache and Shinichi was lucky that Bell's face was hiding the dark shadows beneath his eyes, which were revealing his sleepless night.

When the big silver estate wagon turned around the corner, Shinichi hadn't expected to recognize his old friend inside. Such a huge rental car wasn't really necessary for their purpose.

With a skeptical, Bell stepped towards the car that slowly rolled to a stop. A second before he could reach out for the car's door, it was yanked open before his nose.

"Get in here already, we don't have all day." Heiji, who had leaned over the passenger's seat to open the door, let himself fall back into the driver's seat, drumming on the steering wheel in annoyance, until his eyes again brushed over Bell.

"We've got some company," he announced with a nod to the back seats, without doubt an answer to Bell's skeptical gaze regarding the car.

Heiji's eyes stuck on Bell. He suppressed the comment that they had waylaid him in front of his hotel. This snot should not get the wrong ideas, thinking that Heiji didn't have things under control. Bad enough that _she_ was acting op on him.

When Bell finally got into the car, he didn't take his seat right away, but looked past his head rest to the back of the car, even though he already suspected who accompanied them.

The car had five more seats in its back; two in the middle and a small bench in the trunk on which three people could sit just fine. The detective boys greeted him from the bench with a board grin and a friendly "Hello".

But beside the three, someone else was of the party.

She was responsible that Shinichi neither heard the greeting from Ayumi, Genta or Mitsuhiko, nor Heiji's grumbling to sit down already and close the goddamn door.

Her perfume filled his nose, as if her scent itself was softly stroking his skin, electrifying the small hairs on his neck. His heartbeat was barely more than a static noise in his ears.

Shinichi didn't notice that he was holding his breath, didn't know how long he was looking at her now, but he couldn't break away from her sight.

Her eyes held him under their spell. The soft blue that he had seen last when the deep ocean they seemed to consist of had threatened to burst over its banks.

'Ran.'

Shinichi swallowed. His tongue touched the small transponder behind his canine tooth that gave Bell his voice. He flinched, avoiding her gaze quickly.

'That… that can't be happening. I can't-'

"Good morning." Ran's voice guided his eyes back to her, a soft touch of red on her cheeks, while she extended her hand to greet him with a friendly smile.

"We don't know each other yet, Mr. Bell, my name is Mori Ran. It's a pleasure to meet you."

Her words were like a punch in the gut, a cold feeling was spreading inside him.

But, she _did_ know him!

They knew each other, damn it!

It was incredibly hard for him to hold her gaze, not to look away, to close his eyes and scream.

He was just a stranger to her, like he was for everyone else.

Bell's gaze briefly flashed over to Heiji, slid over to the Detective Boys and back to Ran, his eyes dulling during their journey.

He couldn't tell her the truth, couldn't put the risk of his secret upon her and yet, this whole charade seemed wrong to him.

Not only Shinichi but also Conan who'd had a white west until now, had become a liar now. Because this time it wasn't only Ran who he had to lie to, but everyone he knew was involved into his little act.

And the worst of it was that he couldn't do anything about it, he had no choice but to leave the stage to Bell, while Shinichi had to stay hidden.

 _You can look, but you can't touch, Shinichi…_

He swallowed, forbit himself a cynical smile.

`You can't imagine how right you were, Mr. Black'

His eyes darted back to Ran again, when he noticed that her friendly smile was slowly becoming skeptical. Only then he became aware of the hand that was still hovering in front of him.

'Shit!'

He had failed to control himself again, now it was time to act up again, to make them forget his about strange behavior as soon as possible.

Bell took her hand, mirroring her smile. He could feel her soft fingers in his own. It had been Conan who had held her hand like the last time. But Shinichi ignored the short shiver running down his spine, instead forced himself look into her eyes while he spoke, just like one would expect it from a polite person like Bell.

"The pleasure is all mine, Miss Mori, I'm sure Hattori-keiji already told you that I'm here to consukt in this case."

Shinichi could have gone on speaking, since he had chosen to address her in a way that she would have to correct him, to answer his unasked question. He knew that his face was all red again behind his mask. Her gaze alone was enough to let the blood rush into his cheeks. He recognized that his fingers unconsciously stroke over the hand, which had held hers only a second ago, just like it had been wrested from a job it was supposed to do.

But Ran didn't correct him, she didn't want him to call her Misses Mori and thus she still had to be unmarried.

He felt that he could breathe easier now and he hated himself for the relief he felt inside of him. He hasn't the right to feel like that, not if he really wished for her to have a better life. Shinichi gulped - he wasn't more than a hypocrite.

"I'm sorry that I have ta interrupt yar small talk, but if we don't hit tha road now, we can already move on ta tha third victim!"

Heiji saw the red tint on Ran's cheeks, while Bell didn't seem to acknowledge the embarrassing situation. He blinked dumbly, before he finally sat down with a muttered "Of course".

'Finally!' While he started the engine in annoyance, his eyes rushed back to Ran in the driving mirror. Her cheeks still held a slight hint of red, which she didn't buy in a boutique. The detective from Osaka narrowed his eyes briefly when he noticed that she was starring at Bell's head rest as if in trance.

'What' s goin' on here?'

Was that his plan?

Did he want to lure Ran in like that?

Was she his true target?

The reason he had observed her and Kazuha from the shadows?

Heiji's body went rigid at the very thought. With utmost concentration, he could convince himself to release the howling engine from the first to the second gear. He would make sure to mess up whatever this Bell was planning.

Shinichi whereas was fighting himself to lead his thoughts away from her. He was observing the traffic, the crossroad at which Heiji turned right while he had to gear down to, so that Shinichi's gaze suddenly caught sight of the silver ring on the left hand of the inspector. Quite small and unflashy, but for sure nothing that could be called a trinket either.

The ring looked like-

But Shinichi faltered at the thought, his eyes wandered from the little jewelry back to the face of his friend, who still wasn't looking at Bell.

'Hattori…'

But the inspector never gave him time to finish his thought.

"Say, professor, how come ya're so fluent in our language?"

The short wince when he asked him, satisfied Heiji and made him dig deeper.

"I already noticed it yesterday and well - I'm just curious." The officer allowed himself a fast glance to his side, while he let some walkers cross the road.

Shinichi could hear the wary tone in his voice and immediately knew what Heiji wanted to achieve with this game. The ghost of a smile passed over Bell's face. Just keep cool and play along. He folded his hands into his lap, while his gaze roamed over Tokyo's streets while he spoke.

"I've studied in Japan for a few years. Maybe the language just lay's in my nature." He shrugged, like he was underlining his simple answer, but Bell's pulse rate was far from normal right now. After all, he knew that his answer was just as explosive for Heiji.

"So, ya've never been back ta Japan afterwards?" the inspector tried for an acknowledging smile, but his tone still betrayed him.

"I have ta say that's quite an amazin' achievement and ya also seem ta know yar way around quite good, right?" Heiji grinned superior when he recognized Bell's spooked face, until his eyes behind the reflecting glasses turned back to the illusion with that he was trying to trick everyone.

'But not on my watch! Ya better kiss goodbye ta that idea!'

Shinichi was well aware of the triumphant grin of his driver, but he had no other option than to accept it with a shy shrug.

But his heart was still hammering in irregular beats against his rib cage. No way would he fall into Heiji's trap. On the other hand, the calm way with that Heiji forced him into a corner was a very good reason to worry.

Hattori knew something, he was suspecting him, he had a proof or god knows what against him.

'Darn it!'

He cursed inwardly, kneading his hands in his lap, while he tried to avoid to gasp for air, even if he needed it. He was too afraid to catch a whiff of her perfume, clouding his mind.

Ran's presence wasn't something he had prepared himself for.

He swallowed, adjusted the collar of his shirt and noticed once more the heat beneath the padding of his disguise. Why had she to meddle with their investigation.

'Wait a minute…'

His blue eyes twitched behind Bell's slim glasses.

If Heiji was guessing, maybe even knowing who was sitting beside him, she was the perfect way to lead him away from his suspicions, even when it wouldn't be easy for him.

He took a deep breath, until he slightly turned around, in order to speak to her.

"Say, Mori-san, and please excuse my curiosity, but are you working for the police as well? Or why do we get the pleasure of your company today?" He smiled non-committally and could feel the silicon stretching painfully around the corners of his mouth

Heiji's mouth however threatened to hung open when he heard Bell's friendly tone, which he had used to question Ran. This lousy guy really had no sense of shame and he didn't seem to care about the pressure he had tried to put upon him.

It was time to change that.

Heiji's hands tightened around the black steering wheel. He would find out what Bell was planning, and then he would be done for.

Ran though wasn't aware of the tension between them. She answered with a little shy smile to his question, so that Shinichi was glad that he was just seeing her blurred image from the corner of his eyes.

"No, no! It's not like that!" Ran raised her hands and shook her head with a smile.

"I'm not working for the police, Professor and to be honest I' m not really involved in the case. It' s just- Heiji-kun, excuse me, I mean Hattori-keiji is an old friend of mine and the kids-"

"Ran is our teacher!"

Genta disturbed their conversation.

"That's right and she wanted to make sure we're safe, so that's why she's coming with us." Ayumi agreedand wanted to continue, but Mitsuhiko cut her short, his tone revealing his annoyance.

"At least that's what she's been telling us. I'm sure the truth is that she just wants to make sure that we're not causing too much trouble." In his voice echoed an unspoken, grumbled "as if we ever did that".

But Shinichi didn't hear the complaining high-schoolers. Instead, he finally turned around fully to face Ran.

Heiji barely could swallow his disapproving grunt and let the situation pass with gritted teeth, impatiently waiting for what was about to happen.

"T-teacher?"

Shinichi could suddenly hear Bell's voice crack, something that usually didn't happened to the calm professor. He felt heat crawling on his cheeks behind the silicon, he looked towards her and saw that Ran's taint as well had gained a little color.

"Y-Yeah. I'm a teacher for history and Japanese at Teitan-high."

Shinichi tried to interpret the smile on Ran's lips, a gesture which had become unfamiliar to him, too alien for his taste.

"You see- our jobs aren't that different, Professor."

"Huh?"

"Well…" Ran stayed true to her smile, even if the stunned behavior of the professor surprised her.

"You're teaching as well… at the university, I mean."

"Ah! Sure, that's right!" Bell rubbed his neck in embarrassment and mirrored Ran's smile, who was obviously amused about Bell's awkwardness.

Heiji had little patience for their chit-chat and took the chance to grill the professor a bit more.

"I'm sure ya've been a fast student, right Professor?"

Bell's laughter stopped abruptly while Shinichi could still hear the rare sound echoing in his ears until it also became mute and he faced Hattori.

"What do you mean, Hattori-keiji?"

The officer took his time to answer his question, crossing a junction with a stoic calmness until he started to explain under the tick-tick-tick of the blinker.

"Well, ya're in yar early thirties, author, detective and also professor at a university… I'm just wonderin' where ya get tha time ta think, breathe, not ta mention havin' a private life?"

Heiji obviously wasn't waiting for an answer and Bell avoiding his gaze was all he needed.

Yet, Shinichi would have laughed out loud just to blow off some steam, because of the irony of Hattori's statement.

What a brilliant deduction!

'That's the whole point of it, Hattori. I _don't_ have time for all this. At least… till now.' His gaze flew to the side mirror of the passenger door. He could see Ran's reflection in it that was blurred and ghostly translucent through the glass so that it pictured the distance between them perfectly.

"So, Professor-" Heiji continued. "How did ya manage ta work yar way up tha ladder so fast? I'm sure yar title didn't drop inta yar lap."

Bell who had been ripped from his thoughts just put on a soft smile, he knew what to say to rain on Hattori's parade. The inspector had defeated himself with his question.

"I guess it worked quite similar to your own carrier. Because, with all due respect, I don't know anyone as young as you, who made it to inspector. I believe the secret to both our carriers is probably hard work, diligent study and the one or other good connection. Don't you think so? Hattori- _keiji_?"

'What!?'

Heiji got a little green around his gills. It seemed that this Bell already knew far more about him than Heiji would have liked him to. Because this 'connection' he spoke of could just refer to his father. A lot of people judged him like that until they saw him in action.

The detective from Osaka recollected himself with a deep breath before his eyes wandered to his companion again.

'I still would like ta know which _connections_ ya've used… Professor?'

XXX

No one of them knew what awaited them when they finally arrived at their destination and got out of the car.

Grief tended to take the strangest forms, especially for the bereaved of homicide victims. Aside from the defamatory of death, the pure grief or the slow acceptance - the question of "why" was always present with murder.

Because, different from illness and age in which something supernatural seemed to play Russian roulette with the people, the death was caused by human hand. No God, no destiny or fate - solely an unknown deadly figure, who thought it had the right to take someone's live, was responsible for the pain and loss of the ones the victim left behind.

That's why anger was a steady companion of grief and merged itself in a swirling kettle with the question of 'why' to create a toxic mixture for which the detectives had to prepare themselves each time anew.

That's why the broken picture frame, in which a photo was only visible through glassy shards or the books that had been ripped from a nearby shelf didn't surprise Shinichi at tall.

The apartment mirrored how it must look like inside the girlfriend of their first victim.

Damaged, empty and nothing whole or intact.

Ran had raced to the young woman ahead of everyone, who cowered on the floor beside another heap of shards. They all had twitched when a crush sounded through the open apartment door and so they stepped in without asking for permission.

The open front door in the middle of Tokyo had told Shinichi already enough. The scenario they got themselves into now only made it clear how difficult it would be to get the information they needed.

His eyes rested on Ran, who tried to explain the trembling woman on the floor who they were and what they're doing in her living room, while she tried to calm down the poor thing's breathing.

Ran obviously hadn't changed much. She was still worried for the wellbeing of someone else, sometimes even more than about herself.

Shinichi could see how much strength it took her to calm the desperate woman down, despite the compassionate hurt she was hiding in her own eyes.

He swallowed, biting his dry lips, when he saw the cramped smile on her face that she had shown Conan a little too often.

'Where on earth do you find the strength for all that Ran?'

But his silent question stayed without an answer.

When Ran and Ayumi finally managed to lead the woman to her couch while Mitsuhiko and Genta made a run to get her a glass of water, it was up to Heiji and him to start the unpleasant part of their job.

Shinichi sighed, leaning against the drawer opposite the couch while his eyes brushed Heiji.

His friend looked like his mouth was stuffed with lemons. Shinichi knew him good enough to know that Heiji would ask the necessary questions even if he would detest himself for it afterwards.

The inspector cleared his throat, awkwardly brushing through his already messy hair. It seemed like he was still missing his old baseball cap. Then he let himself fall into a chair beside the woman, who now introduced herself rather embarrassed.

"I- It's – I'm sorry. My name is Kisawa Megumi. I'm- gosh, please pardon this mess and-" her condition, Shinichi added in thought. He looked down to Kisawa, who drew in a deep breath in order to make her voice work.

"I… I still can't believe it, that he is gone." She suppressed a sob and pressed the crumpled tissue to her eyes while she cursed with a shivering voice.

"This stupid scumbag!"

"Don't worry, Kisawa-san," Ayumi started carefully after the detective boys had shared a short look at the desperate anger of the woman.

"With the help of Heiji and Professor Bell, the police will solve the murder in no time."

"W- What?" Confused about her own sudden outburst and a little embarrassed, Kisawa dried her tears with the back of her hand, only to smear her makeup far up to her ear.

"No… I mean, yeah, but actually -" she had called her boyfriend a scumbag, everyone finally understood, so that a deep silence spread in the living room.

They didn't doubt that no one of them was able to understand what she was going through. The pain and loss couldn't be shared like that, they stuck to one person and one person alone and they had to free themselves from these heavy chains on their own- even if that didn't mean that the weight would be lifted from their shoulders.

Bell's eyes shifted to Heiji. The inspector's pen was ready to get his work done, hovering over his notebook. His friend didn't seem to be too eager to thrust the dagger deeper into the wound with his questions.

"What happened to your friend will remain unforgivable," Bell started and took the pressure from Hattori, what earned him an almost neutral glance from his old friend.

The professor however didn't turn to Kisawa, neither lifted his eyes while he spoke in a soft voice.

"It's hard for you to understand that he isn't there any longer, it well be even harder to accept it, that's why the conversation between you and Hattori-keiji will not be easy. But only due to your help, Kisawa-san, we get the chance to catch the murderer of your boyfriend." Only with his last words, he looked up, peeking over his glasses intensely, until she finally gave an uncertain nod.

"B-But the police already questioned me… I don't know what else I can-"

"We just try ta be thorough, that's why I would like ta hear yar statement myself," Heiji interrupted her in an earnest but soothing tone. In the inspector's eyes though still were questions that needed to be asked, so he tried to direct their conversation back to their case.

"Besides… as ya've surely heard, we've got a second murder."

"What…" her voice was barely more than a whisper and her pale face only emphasized the red paths of her former tears.

Heiji looked at her rather confused. That someone in Japan didn't know about the second victim of 'Sherlock Holmes' seemed to be impossible, considering the fuss the press was making about it.

"Don't tell me ya didn't know? The media is screamin' it from every corner! TV, radio, newspaper, inter-"

"I tried to avoid such things these past days, Hattori-keiji. I hope you understand." Her voice was still rough and shaken from the waves of tears, but yet for the first time a firm tone dominated her tone, strengthening her objection.

She obviously wasn't eager to learn something about the new speculations and hazy statements concerning the murder of her boyfriend. No wonder when she would rather ban her memories of what happened from her heart altogether.

Heiji reported briefly what had happened and showed her a picture of the second victim, but the short analysis stayed without result save for the sad shake of her head.

"Well…" Heiji started again, much calmer now. "Anyway, this second murder is tha reason that we're botherin' ya again today." The fingers around Heiji's pen clenched, while he observed the young woman with an urgent gaze.

"So, ya're ready ta answer us a few questions again, Kisawa-san?"

Her nails dug deep into her black leggings, one could see that she braced herself, brushing her dark and uncombed hair behind her ear, before she finally answered him with a faint-hearted "Yes."

While Heiji bothered the poor woman with various questions, Bell tried to exercise restraint. He made himself the one or other note and only interposed a few thoughts here and there. Even the three self-proclaimed detectives just listened to the conversation, so that Ran had enough time to get a closer look at the professor for criminalistics.

She could feel the small hairs on her neck rising when her eyes wandered over to him. It was the focused gaze of his cool blue eyes, which he was hiding behind his glasses that captivated her.

Back in the car, she had noticed baffled and confused that his friendly smile alone was enough to cast a red shimmer on her cheeks, something that no one had managed for the past ten years and before… really no one, but him.

She swallowed and felt how something inside her twisted painfully, so that she had to look away from the man who fascinated her unwillingly. It was probably only the fact that he somehow resembled him that turned her stomach upside down, while her heart leaped in joy when she looked at the American. As if his sight alone was a drug that stimulated her and forced her to turn to him again, scanning him with her eyes.

Bell still stood a little away from the rest of their group, observing everything with a clam patience, which she hadn't thought an American would be capable of. But after Ran's analyses the only resembles with him were still only his eyes because the edgy face, the dark blond hair or his voice had nothing in common with him. Even when his calm worlds and his voice made her skin crawl.

But everything she felt, all the positive sighs and the welcome shiver on her skin, ripped her heart apart all the same.

Ran could taste the greasy consistence of her lipstick while she pressed her lips shut.

Had she really already forgotten about him?

She swallowed, shaking her head while her fingers were kneading the glass of water in her hands, which the kids got her from the kitchen. Tense, Ran observed the small carbonate bubbles on their way up, until they finally reached the surface dissolving into nothingness.

She didn't notice the sad smile that appeared on her lips. While the woman beside her had just recently lost her boyfriend, here she was - only thinking of herself. And yet, while she did blame herself because of her egregious selfishness, she couldn't let go.

The warmth and the rising frequent of her heartbeat, the blood flushing her cheeks, was… it was wrong.

It felt wrong.

 _He_ was wrong.

Bell wasn't allowed to make her feel like that.

But to tell that to her feelings wasn't easy - just the opposite. She couldn't believe that a stranger like him could do that to her and that without even blushing himself.

No, she wouldn't fall for the American that easily for sure, as friendly as he may be.

'No.'

Forcefully, she put the glass of water back on the table.

A little to forcefully she noticed, when suddenly several confused eyes focused on her. With flushed cheeks, she made an apologizing face, so that their attention went back to Kisawa-san.

But for Ran one thing was clear.

Just because it was spring and the world seemed to be made of couples, she wouldn't let herself be wrapped around the Americans finger. Talking herself into believing that her feelings for Bell were truly because he and Shinichi were somehow alike was a stupid mistake she wasn't about to make just because she was lonely.

And yet Bell's gentle tone, didn't make it easy for her, not at all.

"Say, Kisawa-san, can you think of someone who held a grudge against your friend? Someone you could ascribe such a deed to?"

Kisawa blinked in confusion, looking through the streaks of her too long bangs at the professor before she furiously shook her head.

"No, no one. Satoru was a doctor, anesthetist here in the hospital… why should-"

"It couldn't be one of his former patients-?"

"No!" her voice was shrill when she answered Bell.

"I told you already… there is no one! However,…" she swallowed. Bell could literally feel how her vocal cords tensed as she spoke to him.

"He was so strange these past weeks. Tense, nervous somehow. I asked him what was going on, but this idiot just had to lie to me! Like I wouldn't notice that something was amiss!"

Her anger found its way beneath hot tears and a hoarse voice. She needed this, it was like a valve to get rid of her despair.

"This… this dumbass just couldn't open up his mouth! He even screamed at me the last time I wanted to get him a fitting tie from his drawer. He slammed it shut in panic and screamed at me!" Her teeth left small pale imprints on her lips.

When she finally spoke again, all anger had left her tone, leaving her voice empty and brittle. "That… it was the first time we really argued… just because of that."

"But – what has been in the drawer now?

This more or less empathic question only earned Genta an angry look from Ayumi.

Kisawa herself only blinked surprised, a gesture that made even Heiji sceptic. "Well, I'm sure you've looked at it, right?"

"No!"

But to the surprise of them all, the objection didn't only come from Kisawa who dropped her gaze, but from Ran as well.

Ran's eyes still rested on Heiji, even if her cheeks held a little tint of red, that didn't quite match her eye's expression. The tone of her voice was now a little softer than before.

"Why should she have looked, when he didn't want to show it to her and kept it hidden? You don't do that Heiji, you trust each other aft all. You trust him…"

Shinichi could not avoid that Bell's mouth slowly opened itself. Even after ten years, her words and her eyes managed to thrust a poisoned thorn into his heart.

'Ran?'

The tingling beneath his skin told him that the toxic mixture of guilt and regret was spreading inside of him, only to pair itself with the bitter certainty that he couldn't do something, anything to change the unease of the situation.

Ran however didn't seem to notice the professor's concerned glance. She already had pushed her feelings back into the corner they belonged in order to care for Kisawa in her usual attentive way. "Isn't that right?"

A constrained nod together with a few tears was all she got as an answer.

Heiji's eyes still rested on Ran. Right now, he started to wonder who of them had been the bigger actor while she had been living under the same roof as Conan. They had acted in a play which' s end yet wasn't written for her.

The detective from Osaka needed to swallow. Sometimes it was easy to forget how much Ran still was attached to him, it was probably due to the strength Mori's daughter displayed, even after all this time. She always put up a brave front, so that someone had to know her quite good to notice how lousy she really felt sometimes. To get to know how deep her feelings had been for him and still were, was a rather painful experience for him.

"That was the only thing beside his perfectionism that always annoyed me…" Kisawa started, getting their attention again. "… when he was nervous or not doing well, or if Satoru had god-knows what problems, he never talked about it."

Bell noticed how her breath shivered beneath her words, new tears also seemed to come out of their hiding place.

"Satoru… you stupid idiot!" she cursed. "If this damn secretiveness, the edginess are really related to his- t-then-"

"There, there don't drive yarself crazy over it, Kisawa-san!"

Heiji spoke fast, rising his hands in a soothing gesture until the Professor understood what he was doing, helping him out with a smile.

"Hattori-keiji is right, Kisawa-san. Until now nothing is pointing towards it, so don't worry"

Both men exchanged a short glance and while Ran already knew that Heiji didn't like Bell that much, she realized that there was something going on that forced them to work hand in hand to distract the woman from her boyfriend's strange behavior.

But what?

When Kisawa still wasn't able to calm herself down, Heiji changed his tactic, suggesting to take a look into the common bedroom before going into the doctor's home office.

"I just want ta get a quick overview, Kisawa-san, that's all."

She only pulled out her tissue again, already riddled with holes to pat her eyes dry, like a ritual to ward off further tears. She pushed herself from her seat, nodding to the door with a quivering smile. "If- If you want to Hattori-keiji, I'm willing to show you around."

Heiji nodded thankfully. Everyone followed the owner of the apartment, only Ran, who was looking after the detective boys, noticed that Bell had no intention to accompany them.

"Don't you want to go with them, Professor?"

"Mhm?"

Blue eyes focused on her in surprise, it was obvious that he had only now noticed that Ran was still there.

He pushed himself from the drawer with a small smile and spoke while he was walking towards the little side table.

"No, Mouri-san. I' m fine waiting here and I don't belief that Hattori-keiji will need my help. In the meantime, I'll try to get rid of this injury hazard here." With that, he crouched down along with a sigh, to pick up shards from the floor, the remains of a vase that departed its life during their arrival.

Ran felt her pulse speeding up when she understood that she was alone with him. She watched him picking up piece by piece from the floor, but she knew that the calm he showed was deceptive, a look into his eyes was enough to tell her that it was working behind his forehead. The American was doing everything to solve this riddle to bring the murder to justice.

"Ran."

Her heartbeat was drowning out her words. Heat was rising in her cheeks when his eyes looked at her in surprise.

"Just… Ran, please."

She knew how dumb she must sound, she saw how he blinked in confusion before he attended to the shards again.

His face seemed rigid, like it was cast in stone. Nothing betrayed his thoughts. She prayed that he wasn't offended by her offer. Knowing that he had lived in Japan for a while didn't help when embarrassment and insecurity seized her.

'Say something, please.'

Finally, the last piece of glass found itself resting in his hand when he straightened himself again. The tentative smile with that he held out his free hand finally relieved her of her held breath.

"William." he remarked determined. "It's a pleasure,… Ran-san."

Shinichi saw how Ran blushed. He was glad that Bell's stoic calm was a shelter for him, when she sheepishly pulled her hand away from his own again only to study the flooring.

He still felt the sound of her name on his tongue, nearly tasted it. Something in him would have loved to repeat it again and again, for a hundred of times over, until it finally harbored everything he felt when he pronounced it.

But the voice he heard, the words finding their way to her ears were nothing more than part of a lie, which's dark black tar was already sticking to her more than enough, because it was still Bell who spoke to her, not Kudo Shinichi.

"Say… um, how does it come that you and Heiji are so convinced that Satoru-san wasn't involved in something shady?" She tried to sound a little more casual, but somehow it still felt strange, though it was nothing she couldn't get used to.

Shinichi however avoided her gaze and nearly cursed himself for this old but still cowardly gesture. When he caught her eyes again, his words were muffled with empathy, since he could guess how she would react over Hattori's and his own unspoken assumption.

"It's for sure also a possibility right now, I think He-Hattori-keiji is trying to verify it right now. Nonetheless-", he swallowed, a dull smile accompanied his break.

"Nonetheless, there is another reason for a man to get nervous. Very nervous in fact, I would say."

Ran's eyes got wide, she looked eagerly towards Bell, like she was expecting him to share the biggest secret of the world of men. But Bell's voice only bore a gloomy tone, which gave the short sentence another connotation altogether.

"There has been a ring, Ran-san."

Her eyes flickered back and forth. Shinichi supposed that she already knew what it meant but was unable to realize that her hunch probably was correct, so that Bell began speaking again in a calm but steady voice.

"The police found it in his pocket. Due to the receipt he must have had it for a view weeks now. When he'd truly been the perfectionist Kisawa-san told us he was, then… he'd probably been waiting for the perfect moment."

He looked at her for a long time, observing her reaction and noticed that her gaze rested on him as well. It took him only a few seconds until his eyes drifted to the floor.

"Of course it's only a speculation right now, but-"

"Why hasn't she been told about it?"

The charge would have made her mother proud. Bell had no chance to avoid her gaze now that she had his eyes locked with hers, waiting for an answer.

Now.

Shinichi swallowed. The situation was far from pleasant, her demanding gaze remembered him that she indeed deserved an answer, if not out of Bell's mouth.

Ran observed Bell. She could feel how she shivered and that her eyes were starting to burn, but she was not about to give in to her body now, not until he finally told her.

A sad smile from the American announced the answer, reflecting light on his glasses blocked her view for a second, before he shook his head with a sigh.

"Without to impute Hattori-keiji something - but I fear that we both are too cowardly to tell her about it… and beside - I somehow doubt that she would like to hear it from us." He looked back up and for the first time Ran recognized the pain in his features. Even though his voice was composed, and he tried for his tone to be gentle, one could see that he wasn't as cold as his job would let assume.

"She'll learn about it once the police are going to return the ring, as soon as the forensic is done with it. To tell her about it just like that … I, I don't even know if she would believe us right now, as angry as she is. I believe that she knows that he's not to blame for what happened and yet from her point of view, he still left her behind. Anger and rage are just easer to deal with than grief. People are familiar with them and we know how to deal with it, beside… they are about to vanish sooner or later while grief is not about to end, it lessens, gets easier… but it'll always be there."

She couldn't blink away the tears in her eyes. It was as if icy water was suddenly flowing through her veins while she stood there parasailed by his words.

Her thoughts scattered without her being able to follow just one of it. They drove by - only leaving impressions and emotions behind, which came over her. Bell's tone revealed that he knew what he was talking about. Kisawa-san's angry eyes full of tears, and _him_ who she just couldn't let go.

"Just… just because he wanted everything to be perfect… just because of that she doesn't know. She'll never know. That's not fair! It' s not fair. For none of them!" Tears shimmered in her eyes. Shinichi's heart pounded painfully in his chest, when he saw the quite too familiar salt water pouring down her cheeks.

'Ran.'

His fingertips throbbed. He would love to dry her tears, but his appearance forced him to hold back. She probably didn't even know how well her words suited him as well. How should she know what he had wanted to tell her in the restaurant back then.

 _She'll never know._

'Shit!'

He pressed his eyes shut, gritting his teeth while he closed his hands to fists.

"Ouch!"

Shinichi sharply gasped for breath. Stupid as he was, he had forgotten about the shards in his hand, which had just sliced a gash in his palm.

"Prof- you've cut yourself!"

"No, no it's nothing, Ran… I-"

But before Bell had the slightest chance to react, his hand already rested in Ran's. Once again his face was heating up under the layer of silicone. She searched for the wound between the shards in his palm and recognized in surprise how slim the hands of the Professor for criminalistics where, but the strange fact was drowned by her care.

Steps and the voice of the officer interrupted Ran in her nursing, Heiji couldn't have disturbed them at any better time.

"We are done soon, Kisawa-san, just-", but Heiji who was talking to her like a doctor to his patient, broke off into silence when he heard their intimate addressing and saw Bell's hand in Ran's.

His twitching eyes revealed how much strength it cost him not to yell right away. Instead he just stared at them.

'What tha heck is goin' on here?!'

Shinichi felt a cold shiver running down his spine when he saw Heiji's expression.

'Shit!' Hectically, he unlocked his hand from Ran's grip, presenting her a small shy smile.

"It's just a scratch honestly… but, thanks."

She gave him a stunned look, following his eyes over her shoulder and was angry with herself when she noticed that she blushed when she recognized Heiji behind her.

Before he vanished into the kitchen, Bell stopped beside her., Ran could feel his breath on her skin when he spoke.

"I suggest we drop the familiarity's for now. I doubt Hattori-keiji is going to like it - if that's alright, Mori-san?"

She nodded, baffled and looked after the Professor with a touch of red on her cheeks as he vanished in the direction of the kitchen.

She could feel Heiji's gaze wandering from Bell towards her, sticking on her like leech, while she evaded his eyes.

She hugged herself. It was as if something in her head was suddenly switched on again, so that she suddenly felt alien in her own skin.

'Just what is happening here?'

If looks could kill, Heiji would have murdered Bell ten times over by now. Shinichi knew that just too well, because Hattori's gaze spoke volumes when he came back into the room.

Save for Kisawa, who found her way back to the couch, crushing a flower printed pillow in her arms. Everyone else stood, a clear sing that the visit would soon be over.

Heiji's nostrils still swelled dangerously, he tried hard to focus on the case again and to ban the angry voice in his head.

"Very well, Kisawa-san, first of all I want ta thank ya for bein' so cooperative. We just have ta get over some details and then ya'll be rid of us."

Her trembling figure on the sofa tried for a smile and nodded, exhaustion written on her face. Heiji understood her and tugged out his notebook one last time.

"We also require tha addresses of other relatives." Heiji brushed through his hair with an embarrassed sigh.

"It seems like my colleagues have made some mistake, because I wasn't able to find some data of them in our documents, that's why-"

"That wasn't a mistake, Hattori-keiji."

"Huh?"

The pillow suffered beneath her fingers when Kisawa felt the confused eyes on her skin. An invisible weight seemed to lay on her lungs, making it hard to speak. Everyone was listening to her. The with poppies printed pillow was hard to identify beneath her fingers while she told them how their victim had been a culprit himself a few years ago.

After that, his family had turned away from him… Like her family from her, because she couldn't forget about him just like that. So, she'd stayed and waited for him to come back, 12 long years she had been waiting. Something her parents and her family couldn't accept.

"Satoru wasn't… he wasn't a simple murderer. The circumstances… he regretted his deed, he always regretted it."

"But how… how could you wait for him all that time… how could you ever forgive him?"

"What?"

Heiji and detective boys turned away from her, each of them focusing on a different spot to simply stare at it. May it be a stain on the floor, the ticking clock on the wall or a fly on the window - everything but her.

They all knew where that question came from, but none of them was able to say something. They looked away, like most people on the streets ignored someone calling for help, instead they let the drama go on. Heiji knew it was cowardly of them because none of them was strong enough to hold up in a discussion about _that_ with Ran.

Shinichi however didn't look away, he couldn't banish the pain from his face that was caused by her, pleading for an answer.

'Ran.'

His mute lips formed her name, his gaze drove past her eyes in which glittered new and old tears and even when her voice had shivered, her gaze was strong.

'Ran… you're not?'

He knew what her question meant and yet, he was still searching for other reasons, just to avoid the slow rising of hope.

Kisawa looked at the young woman as well, searching for a further meaning behind her question, until her eyes dulled when her gaze searched the floor only to make space for further tears.

But when Kisawa finally spoke, Ran believed that she had seen a small smile on her lips. So fleeting, she couldn't place it, but it had been there.

"I don't know."

"But you've-"

But Kisawa cut her off with a shake of her head. "I waited, I forgave him but I'm afraid I can't tell you why or how I did it."

Looking up, Ran saw her tear-filled eyes, which even through this wet curtain told her more than her inscrutable words.

"I just did."


	10. 9 Lie

**Lie**

 _How?_

Ran's question dominated his thoughts, it clung to his mind like a dirty parasite, sucking away any concentration, leaving Shinichi behind with only uncertainty. A question that could mean so much, yet told him so little. It held so much hope while it also brought so much suffering.

This one tiny, damned question alone.

Shinichi bit his lips. He only now became aware that he was still polishing his glasses - Bell's glasses, while around him the case had become the main focus again. With some effort, but as unsuspicious as possible he tried to get a hold of himself. He blinked while he tried to scrape together the rest of his concentration.

'Get your act together, Kudo.'

He guided his glance past Ran, back to old couple sitting in front of them, leaning against each other. The parents of the second victim had opened their door for them uncertain, but more or less politely.

Surrounded by pictures of aunts, cousins, children and probably also a few grandchildren that stood framed on several drawers, tables and windowsills, the two made for a peculiar picture themselves.

Shinichi guessed that the aging Mrs. Moto probably wore the very same pajama as the morning when an officer had knocked on their door with the most terrible of all messages, ripping them out of their sleep. It seemed that Mr. Moto was a little more in his senses, even though Shinichi could see two different socks peeking out of the old felt-slippers, which oddly matched with his incorrectly-buttoned shirt.

While they were answering Heiji's questions, Mr. Moto repeatedly shoved a gray patterned blanket over the shivering knees of his wife, who not once noticed how it slipped down her thighs again.

The young eyes of the thirty-years-old professor dulled, as he watched the aging parents.

Parents weren't supposed to survive their children.

They weren't supposed to choose a gravestone for them, or bury them, leaving flowers on their grave.

Normally, parents weren't supposed to do that. But what was normal?

He swallowed and took a long breath.

'Or fair?'

Shinichi quickly noticed that Heiji had trouble to fit his questions between anecdotes, tears and stubborn denial of their situation.

But the officer was skilled and despite the difficulties, he had almost reached the end of his interview. However, Mr. Moto was still caught up in his last question.

"I just don't believe that there is someone who would want to harm our little girl. No, no, there was no reason to. Right, dear?" He squeezed her wrinkled hand, but a short blink above the swollen bags under her eyes was the only answer he got. But despite the lethargy of his wife, he still believed in what he'd told the detective.

"Believe me, our girl never gave someone a reason to dislike her. She just recently met a man. She liked him, we noticed that by the way she smiled right away. Parents just know such things, you know. However-" The paper colored cheek of the old man showed a fine hint of red.

"We even mused about having grandchildren, because she liked him that much, our Aya. Isn't that true, dear?" Again, he softly pressed the hand of his wife, but she remained silent just like she had the whole time.

Heiji however took advantage of the brief breathing pause, to regain the control of their conversation.

"Has ya daughter-, has Aya-san mentioned that she changed her morning route? Perhaps because she was feeling uncomfortable of some sort?"

"Yes, in fact she did! But do you believe that-"

"What exactly did she say? Did someone follow her? Watched her?"

But the old man only shook his head, his features hardened, it was visible that he finally understood in which way the conversation was going.

"No…no, she just said that she wanted to try another route."

Heiji nodded, registering what he'd been told, but his voice changed when he spoke again with a serious look.

"Ya probably know, that yar daughter is already tha second victim of this murderer."

Shinichi saw how the old couple winced and moved a little closer together, but the detective couldn't tell if the word "victim" or "murderer" was the reason for their reaction.

"Anyway, we would ask both of ya ta take a look at tha photo of tha first victim. Of course,that's just a routine procedure."

Thus, the Osakan took the picture to hold in in front of their noses.

For the first time during their conversation, life flickered in the old woman. Her eyes behind the almost ancient glasses that had probably a far too little lens strength, since she narrowed her eyes while she was looking at the picture that she had taken from the shivering hands of her husband.

"That's- that's Satoru-kun!" Her voice held a smoky touch and didn't really fit her appearance while it was rapidly pushed in the background by her husband again.

"Indeed, that's him. You really have an excellent memory when it's about faces, my dear!"

This finally brought Bell back to live, as well as Heiji.

"So ya daughter knew him? Ya as well? How long has she known him? How was their relationship ta each other?" Hattori didn't even take a breath while bombarding the old couple with all those questions. The young inspector hadn't adopted Megure's calm manner yet, despite his rank. A stranger would have declared Hattori as unprofessional right now.

But that was Hattori for you.

Working with special enthusiasm once things were getting serious.

Shinichi swallowed. He couldn't suppress the ironic smile at the sight of his old friend.

'I just hope that your vigor is not going to become my doom, Hattori.'

Heiji though didn't notice the look of his new unwanted colleague, but was listening to Mr. Moto's explanation with tense concentration. The old man's wrinkles seemed to develop a life on their own while he spoke, twitching in an unknown rhythm.

"We only knew him briefly, Hattori-keiji. Our Aya however was often there, I think they were fleeting acquaintances at least."

"What do ya mean with "there"?"

"Ah well, it's nothing special. A café just a couple of streets from here. When Aya wanted to discuss something with us, she suggested to meet us there, that's where we met this man."

Shinichi's fingertips started to tingle. Finally, they had their first clue, something that proved that "Holmes" wasn't just going through the streets, killing whoever he felt like. The café could be their first ray of hope in this dark case. The twinkle in Heiji's eyes told him that his friend was thinking the same thing.

"Could ya tell us what tha café is called, Moto-san?"

'Can ya remember that, at least?' Heiji would have liked to add to his sentence, but suppressed the reference to Moto's age, while he watched how the old man was scratching his head. He shifted a few hairs, revealing a bald spot that was clumsily hidden and probably spread over the bigger part of his head.

"Like I said, it's quite small and close by. I believe it's in Haido, right darling? The name was foreign, I think… something like "new lyv"."

"I guess you mean "New life"?"

Moto blinked towards Bell, perhaps surprised that the appendage of the officer suddenly spoke to him, but then nodded obediently.

"Yes, that's how Aya pronounced it. Unfortunately, I'm not speaking English, never learned it at school. But it's nothing special, Hattori-keiji, just a small café that she liked to visit from time to time, nothing more."

While Heiji thanked the couple politely for their help and again reassured them of his sympathy for their situation, Shinichi took a close look at them.

Something was more than wrong about the whole thing. Of course, the two of them where tense and hardly capable to be part of a conversation right now, but there was something that both of them where hiding from them.

'All those protestations and then this lie…'

His gaze wandered to Heiji. He tried to see whether his old friend was thinking along the same lines, but the officer's face was not giving away anything.

'It seems like we have more than one clue - but first we've to see what this strange café is all about.'

Not for the first time, Ran's gaze escaped her against her will. It was like it had a life of its own when it flew back to the American and again her blood rushed through her cheeks, while her heart rate was picking up speed.

She tried to direct her eyes to the floor, pressing her lips to a thin line and tried to ignore her beating heart.

'Could… could it be?'

With a stubborn shake of her head, she tried to get rid of the ghosts in her mind, but the dark red color of her cheeks revealed that she would not be able to imprison her thoughts for long.

Ran bit her lips again.

'No… he'll come back.

For sure, he will.'

XXX

"These poor parent's, it must be hard for them to lose her daughter like that.", Ayumi's voice broke through the tense silence that hung in the car when they had left the Moto family.

"That's right and the killer is not even caught yet, even when the clue about the café sounds good. Maybe the guests there are "Holmes" target?"

"The café is a start."

Bell's voice interrupted the three while his eyes where seeking them in the rearview mirror.

"It's a first connection between the two victims and it might help us to figure out more about the culprit. In any case, Megure-keishi will need to consider it, isn't that so, Hattori-keiji?"

Heiji wasn't looking at the American, he let him wait for an answer quite some time. Undeterred, he pushed down the clutch, getting the car into a higher gear, hoping that the traffic wouldn't stop them too soon again.

Slowly but surely, Shinichi's resentment changed into discomfort. It didn't feel good to be treated like that by someone who was supposed to be your best friend.

'Get on with it, Hattori, I've learned my lesson.'

But the detective turned around the next corner before he finally did him the favor to affirm his sentence with a grumble. Luckily, the hum seemed to be the introduction to a conversation, so that Shinichi didn't have to pull everything out the officer's nose.

"Yeah, it might help us. Furthermore, we need ta check if someone noticed that Aya had been watched. Maybe they even have seen someone who fits into tha description of our murderer."

"You know what he looks like?!"

Ran had squeezed herself between the two front seats, to get a look at the two investigators. It wasn't to their advantage, Shinichi noticed, because not only his own facial expression was slipping but Heiji's as well was struggling to find the right words just like he did. The officer started sweating while he tried to repair the damage caused by his big mouth.

"It's not much, Ran, ta be honest. We only know small bits and pieces, not enough ta start a manhunt anyway."

Shinichi noticed a single bead of sweat running down Heiji's cheek, a tell-telling sight that Bell's fake face luckily protected him from. Reason enough to help his friend out in that matter to distract Ran from this black tarred trail.

"Heiji-keiji is right Mori-san. I'm afraid it won't do you any good to listen to further details. Usually it's about to vary with each witness report anyway."

"Huh? Sure…" But there was more behind Ran's hushed admission. She knew that both detectives were trying to dissuade her from going deeper into it.

'If I only knew why?'

The mere fact alone that Bell and Hattori were working together in this maneuver, made both of them rather suspicious. Because it wasn't something Heiji wanted and yet it just tended to happen. Their thought's matched somehow, leading them on the same track. A fact that, according to Heiji's expression, didn't sit right with him.

The two had briefly exchanged a glance, which Bell quickly tried to avoid.

'Tha guy did it again! He tried ta distract us from tha man in black again. Damn it, I'll eat my old hat if I'm wrong with this!'

Heiji gulped, focused his eyes back on the road again, until a sarcastic smile formed itself on his lips.

'Don't ya believe that I'll make it easy for ya, _Mr. Bell._ '

"Shouldn't we start to take the kid's home, Hattori-keiji?"

Heiji, who had flinched at the voice of his "enemy" and hating himself therefore, only gave him a questioning look.

"Well… it's getting dark, the sun is as good as gone and I thought it would be wise to-"

"Of course," Heiji disturbed him rudely, if insightful, because he only now realized that the sky above Tokyo was already drenched in a rich red color. He looked at the high schoolers and Ran through the glass of the rearview mirror.

"So, who goes first, guys?"

"C-Could you please start with me, Heiji-kun?"

"Huh?" The questioning gaze of the Osakan wandered back into the mirror.

Famed by the black plastic, Ran now looked at him, slightly embarrassed, knowing very well that the officer surveyed her.

"Well… as I told you and Kazuha yesterday, I have a date today."

Her voice didn't hold even a hint of discomfort, but it wasn't Ran's casual tone alone that seemed to hit Shinichi in the stomach. The word "date" was such a hart slap in the face that he could hear it ring in his ears for a while longer. He felt his fingernails drilling deeper into the car seat, while he tried to listen further to their conversation, but his brain felt like someone had stuffed it with cotton.

"Ah - that's right, ya told us. Say, since when is this weirdo actually back?" Heiji tried to soften the tension in his voice, leading it into his hands instead, which now gripped the steering wheel even harder, so that his knuckles gained a ghostly white color.

Because if _he_ was back in Japan… it perhaps was just another indication that his suspicions would prove themselves right.

But Heiji's eyes that clung like glue on Bell, got distracted by Ran's words again.

"Since about a week now, but we only managed to find some free time to meet each other today and to be honest I'm almost a little late already."

'A week…'

Heiji's brain automatically filtered everything it needed from her sentence. Slowly but surely the gray matter formed itself into a plan, in which Ran's date fitted perfectly fine.

"I'll drive you there, Ran! It's my pleasure."

Shinichi noticed how Ran told him the address and the name of the restaurant, but he was unable to really understand a single word of it. His thoughts played her words over and over again, like a broken record.

Did she sound nervous? Shy? Excited? Or maybe even… in love?

She was looking forward to her rendezvous, without a doubt. He had figured that much out and yet he wasn't able to piece the rest of the puzzle together.

Or was it only that he didn't want to?

He swallowed, his mouth felt like he just ate a fresh baked sand pie.

'So, what if it's a date! I should be happy for her! She deserves it, damn it!'

He should be happy for her.

Like a silent mantra, Shinichi tried to hammer these words into his brain, again and again. But instead that his rusty mind finally accepted what it was told, he only grew more restless every time he recited his thoughts.

The blue eyes of the high schooler closed themselves behind Bell's glasses. He tried to stay calm, but his attempt failed miserably, since his mental cinema wasn't kind to him.

He saw her… his Ran, with someone else.

Happy?

He couldn't see it.

Probably he simply didn't _want_ to see it, the cynical smile on his lips proved him right, his mind still tried to trick him.

He should be busy with the case in order to keep his emotions at bay and yet jealousy and joy were fighting mercilessly, while hope and despair only waited that the ring would be free for them.

Above it all still hovered this very feeling that had already led him to so many misdeeds while it was whispering the same words softly into his ears again and again.

He should be happy.

XXX

The lanterns had only turned on with a short flicker.

Tokyo's streets seemed to get quieter, while cold memories of the winter tugged at their clothes in from of a biting wind.

Heiji hadn't even bothered to try looking for a parking space in front of the restaurant, instead just chose the first they passed that could be labeled as "close". Although the officer knew quite well that Ran was able to defend herself, he insisted to accompany her to the restaurant.

Why, how and for whatever reason the whole team had tagged along to bring her to her goal, Shinichi failed to catch. Fact was that all of them now waited in front of the definitely not cheap restaurant for Ran's date to appear.

While the detective boys were excitedly talking about the case and all kind of explanations to it, Heiji chatted with Ran, while leaving death and murder out of their conversation for a while.

Shinichi had placed himself a little bit away from the group, leaning against a lantern, while above his head the first moths were wildly whirling around the artificial light. He tried to appear calm as he observed the scene before him. Like someone had pictured it on screen, everything happened right before his nose and yet he wasn't able to intervene.

Obviously, life went on without Edogawa Conan… and without Kudo Shinichi.

Shinichi's shoulders slumped beneath a quiet sigh, his gaze slowly slid to the ground.

'Why should it be different? People get used to everything, it's just a matter of time.'

Yet Shinichi knew better. This rule didn't count for him.

This fairy tale of adaption and acceptance to one's situation was nothing more than the illusion of a bad magician.

He may have gotten used to his situation, pretending to be someone he wasn't, to act along even though he didn't know the script nor the end of it.

But had he accepted it?

No, surely, he hadn't.

He played along, because he had to, but the sense to all of it seemed to slip away from him, further and further. Someone snatched it away from him before he could even reach out for it, while he could do nothing more than to let his chance pass by with that damn smile on his lips that made everyone believe that he was fine.

'Darn it!'

Shinichi swallowed, the moths above his head buzzed excitedly against the glass, attracted by the light, but unable to reach it - and if one of them somehow made it into the lampshade, it burned.

He pushed off his glasses, gently rubbing his eyes with his forefinger and thumb until he dutiful and hateful put them on his nose again.

He was tired.

If the circumstances where different, if all of this had never happened, he might be able to come clean with her, to ask her to wait for him- only a little longer.

But…

After all what happened and after ten years, he no longer had the right to ask that of her. He could not refuse Ran the luck she deserved, and he certainly wasn't selfish enough to ask her to wait any longer.

He loved her after all…

He loved her and that's why he had to let it happen.

He loved her and that's why he couldn't.

A pain contorted sarcastic smile hurried over Bell's face. It was astounding, how a feeling alone could yank so many emotions with it into the abyss. The threshold to madness was close and Shinichi knew just too well that only a tiny step into the wrong direction could change his world forever.

For that reason alone, he was glad that they left him in peace for the moment. He probably wouldn't be able to pronounce a single reasonable sentence if someone spoke to him right now.

Whether he would succeed with that if _he_ was standing in front of him, was a completely different question.

He looked up, rather impatiently waiting for Ran's potential new "friend" to arrive, but he was still nowhere to be seen.

'Geez, I'm really curious what kind of guy you got yourself, Ran.'

Shinichi knew only too well that the jealousy was speaking out of him. He could hear it in his thoughts and felt that his fingers wished to greet her date with something different than a friendly handshake.

And yet the whole thing was silly, downright ridiculous.

To be jealous while he had actually wished for her to be happy.

'If she has found someone else, fine! Let her be happy with him!'

But the silent tolerance that Shinichi tried to talk himself into with a forked tongue wasn't about to happen. Countless of names buzzed in his head, while his mind was searching for one he could imagine to be at her side.

'It might be Yuba from her karate-workshop, or Hiroki - he already had cast an eye on her after all. No wait- what if it would be someone- then it must be _him_.'

It could only be one.

'This creep of Araide!'

"Hey guy's, how are you?"

"Uh?" Shinichi looked up in surprise. He hadn't recognized the male voice right away, but when he looked up at him, he immediately knew who was in front of him. However, he just became aware of what his appearance meant when Ran gave him a joyous hug.

'WHAT?!'

His jaw literally fell down. It was impossible to pull himself together right now, this was just too much. Shinichi had expected everyone, everyone- but not him!

'H- Hondo Eisuke!'

The detective wasn't able to move, he could only stand there, observing this scene with an open mouth.

"I'm glad to see you, Ran-san, but - I see you've brought someone along?" Eisuke blinked, peeking over his glasses. The large round frame seemingly had been discarded for a smaller model.

"Ah, well…" With a shy smile that felt like a slap in Shinichi's face, she turned around to their small group.

"I'm sure you remember Heiji-kun and well- these high schoolers are, believe it or not - no one else than the Detective Boys!"

Hondo turned to the detectives with a proper smile.

"It's really nice to see you again! Even if I have to admit that I wouldn't have recognized you… you're all so grown up."

A board smile was visible on their faces and Ayumi's cheeks even showed a slight hint of red, while Eisuke turned around to shake hands with Hattori, before Ran presented the last member of their small group.

"If I may introduce you. Hondo Eisuke, he's an old friend who lived in the US for a while now. Maybe you already know Mr. Bell?"

The eyes behind Eisuke's glasses grew large, while he turned to Bell with an outstretched hand, the big smile on his face told Shinichi that he had already heard of him.

" **Don't you tell me you are** _ **the-**_ **William Bell, are you?"** He took Bell's hand, shaking it a little bit overexcited.

" **Nice to meet you, Professor!"**

Shinichi couldn't do much more than to stare at the man, stunned. He registered that Eisuke was still a little bit taller than him, but right now he wasn't even able to be annoyed about that.

A hollow emptiness ruled in his head, until something in him brought the autopilot back in motion, but his words, spoken with Bell's voice still echoed endlessly inside him.

" **The pleasure is all mine, Hondo-san."**

Bell tried for a smile, but the dumb grin that he could muster burned in the corners of his mouth.

"You really are a celebrity in the states and yet they asked you to come to help out with a case here in Japan, is amazing," Eisuke explained further, using his mother tongue again.

"Speakin' of bein' here." Heiji interrupted their friendly chatter.

"What are ya doin' here, Hondo-kun? I didn't know that tha CIA allows their members a special holyday."

"Shht- not so loud, Hattori-kun!"

"Oh, come on! Everyone here knows about it and even if someone was to listenin' into us- I doubt they'll believe it when they see ya."

Heiji's casual tone however, was not directed at Eisuke, who looked at him with an embarrassed grin that only showed that he knew that wasn't what someone expected when they heard that he was working with the CIA. It was Bell's reaction he had aimed for and which just turned out as he desired.

The so-called Professor seemed shocked.

But the triumphant smile on Heiji's lips was brief. Because if his guess would be confirmed, it meant that the danger was lingering right before their nose.

'Even if it does look like tha presence of tha CIA has shocked this guy for now, I'm sure it won't keep him busy for long.' But right now, Heiji really enjoyed the stiff silhouette of the professor.

CIA.

Shinichi's head was working slowly right now, but at least something moved inside his grey cells. The mentioning of the secret agency of the United Stated had shook him awake.

Eisuke really had managed to become part of the company.

Shinichi looked up at him, surveyed the agent rather skeptical and tried to ignore Ran, who was standing by his side.

He really had underestimated him back then. Similar to inspector Colombo, who no one would take seriously, he had allowed him to come close to himself, so that he finally had managed to get behind his _little_ secret.

Shinichi knew that he had to think about what Eisuke-, what the CIA was doing here in Japan. He had to figure out what his appearance would mean for the case, for the FBI.

He didn't believe that Eisuke's goal had changed over the years, especially now that he had made it that far. He wouldn't be able to get around a little brainstorming and the one or other call, that much was for sure.

But everything that had to be done, faded against the words of the seventeen years old Eisuke that haunted Shinichi since he had seen him at Ran's side, like an unwelcome poltergeist, jumbling everything up.

Eisuke had told it to the little boy quite unabashed, with a slight red tint on his cheeks, knowing just too well that he would have the nosy primary schooler hook, line and sinker.

But the bait he had used for him had been more than just a bunch of empty words that he could use for his purpose, no… Hondo had meant it.

" _I had a crush on her at first sight! I've never met someone that beautiful and kind-hearted…"_

Shinichi swallowed, pressing his eyes shut, until he finally found the strength again to recognize what he knew all along.

The shy smile, his gaze that would slide to Ran again and again, not to mention the fact that he was her date…

Eisuke's feelings for her hadn't changed.

It was obvious that he was still in love with her and Shinichi knew that he wouldn't hesitate this time. He would tell her about his feelings, like he would have done back then if it hadn't been for him. He breathed deeply until his lungs felt like they were about to burst.

This time no one would prevent him from doing so.

Shinichi's heart clenched, something inside him wanted to scream and was now writhing in the corner he'd chosen to keep it in. His breath was unsteady, it took him strength to suppress a shiver, to banish the thoughts from his mind that would for sure hunt his dreams tonight.

His gaze flew back to Ran. Her heartfelt laughter from the conversation she was part of right now, her cheerful voice and her clear and keen eyes… free of any tears.

Eyes that had been dull without him far too long, tired from the fight against the salty water, which in the end always won. Eyes, which hoped but had been disappointed time and again and were looking into a vague future in distraught.

'No… that's not how it should be.'

The high schooler behind the mask sighed.

The voice inside him still screamed, but he simply ignored it. The pain however still remained, mixing itself with old, but nonetheless painful memories.

Why had he even let it come to this?

He should have acted much earlier back then.

But he hadn't.

A short shiver ran down Shinichi's spine and he felt how the fine hairs in his neck stood to end. Cold sweat was running down from beneath Bell's dirty blonde hair.

He felt dirty, disgusting, gross.

He had told himself that there was hope, that he certainly would defeat the organization, they only needed to get through it for a little while.

But that hadn't been the case.

No - he knew better now. He finally understood why he couldn't let go of her back then, why he had been so egoistic to keep Ran at his side despite his situation.

This time he wouldn't make the same mistake again, he would not keep her a prisoner of her own tears and calm her down with vague hopes.

'You deserve something better, Ran.'

His eyes found their way back to her.

He noticed that she was talking to Eisuke. A strange picture, even if he tried to avoid calling it that. Instead, Eisuke's ghost seemed to whisper something in his ear.

" _Unlike Shinichi, I won't leave Ran-san alone."_

Eisuke loved her, just like he always had.

This time though, Shinichi would not intervene, he would not take this chance from him.

He would finally let her go.

The wind grabbed his clothes, tugging at Bell's wig and hurled one of the moths that had just been dancing excitedly around the lantern light, against the glass, causing the small insect to land beneath his feet, twitching in agony.

Shinichi watched the efforts it made to get back on its feet, but it failed. It was not about to get up again. It could only wait until another even harder gust of wind would end its pain.

Shinichi though, no longer felt the cold tug of the wind, because Bell's face protected him from the cold and his fingertips had already gone numb anyway.

He might not be ready to give her up, but he was prepared to give up a part of himself. Not the part that was waiting, nor the one that still was attached to her, the one that loved her… but the part that somehow still hoped.

Hope had never been his friend, to be honest. It was something he could easily get rid of, it may even be better to do so in this case. At least there would be no more pain and he was not about to disappoint himself any longer.

It slowly grew quiet in his thoughts. The voices in his head were still talking to him, but he simply didn't listen anymore. Everything what was about to happen was no longer in his hands. He was only a mute witness, who was watching everything through a dense screen of frog. He felt the pain but didn't respond to it. Shinichi finally played the part he owed _her_ for a while now.

A quiet cough from Professor Bell drew the attention of the others back to the American, who now took a step towards them with a brief, sheepish smile.

"Don't you think it's time that we leave the two of them to enjoy their evening, Hattori-keiji? Besides…" He nodded towards the three high schoolers. It was getting late and holydays or not, it was time for them to get home.

Heiji, who noticed from the corner of his eye that Ran was about to object, hurried to intervene, nodding to the Professor in agreement.

"Of course, Mr. Bell. It's time ta go. So, hurry up ya lot, back ta tha car."

The silent grumble from the Detective Boys revealed that they didn't entirely agree with Heiji's plan, but they told their goodbyes and went ahead of the two adults towards the car.

The officer wished them a goodnight as well, he gave Ran a short hug, before he reached for Hondo's hand rather formally.

Shinichi, who still desperately tried to keep the smile on Bell's face, neither saw the surprised look on Eisuke's face, nor how the hand that Hattori had just shaken, vanished into the pocket of his trousers.

The detective focused on his own breathing and tried to suppress the slowly rising nausea. The farewell dragged on and on, like he just stepped into a sticky gum, gluing him to the ground.

And yet he had to leave.

As soon as possible.

"Well…"

Bell's tone sounded friendly and yet he denied Ran a look into his eyes.

'What's going on?'

She couldn't tell why, but she wished that he would look at her and stop talking like that… in this friendly but empty and neutral tone.

But he didn't do her the favor.

"I wish both of you a nice evening. Hondo-san, Mori-san." He bowed a little and the Japanese gesture didn't seem as misplaced as expected from an American.

"Goodbye."

Thus, he turned around and went away. Fast, not waiting for a reply - without looking back.

Shinichi felt nothing when he told them goodbye or when Eisuke opened the door for Ran, only to get stuck with the sleeve of his jacket on the door handle afterwards. All those feelings, which had stowed inside him had finally broken the dam and flowed away, leaving nothing but a dark emptiness inside him.

Deaf and numb, he followed Heiji back to his car. Everything happed automatically. He opened the door, took his seat and shut the passenger door again. Deprived of all his senses and feelings, he was only functioning at the moment.

XXX

The restaurant was bathed in warm light. Fresh flowers were placed in front of them, carnations if his wasn't mistaken and a bunch of waiters was bustling around them, who looked like they all had swallowed a ruler.

She still was as beautiful as ten years ago and enchanted him with her heartwarming smile. The soft candle light turned her skin into a silky gold, made her happily glowing eyes shine brightly.

Eisuke instantly felt how heat was rising in his cheeks, his head probably now matched the stain of red wine on his shirt that he got during their first toast. But beside the stain and him getting stuck on the door handle, everything seemed to be rather perfect so far.

 _Well… not really._

Because the reason why this eagerly awaited evening wasn't working out like it should had a name:

William Bell.

He had already noticed how she looked at Bell when he had told them goodbye. He didn't ask her about the topic yet, but when she had to visit the toilette, he took his chance to look at the small piece of paper, Hattori had secretly put in his hand.

It was the business card of the officer, but his phone number and other data wasn't the reason he had given it to him.

It were the few hand scribbled words on its backside that were the reason for the secrecy.

 _Who is William Bell?_

 _Are_ they _back?_

Especially the first question, made the small business card to become an unbearable weight in his pocket, which increasingly threatened to bring him down. Because just this little sentence had led him to ask an inconspicuous question, which, however had thrown his carefully planned evening over.

"So, what do you think of Bell?"

The shy shade of red on her cheeks alone was enough to let the lump in his throat grow. Clearly, he had asked the wrong question.

"I don't know." She avoided his gaze and Eisuke could feel how he was slowly growing even more nervous.

"Huh? You don't know? How can you not know what you think of him?" He finally put the menu card aside. He was about to raise the glass of red wine to his dry lips when Ran's energetic tone suddenly stopped him, causing another drop of wine to become a spot on the table.

"I just don't!"

Her cheeks were glowing, she looked at him vigorously and only now realized that she had been too loud since the looks of the other guests were on them.

Embarrassed, Ran tugged at the napkin on her lap and continued to speak before Eisuke could have said something. Her voice was calm now, rather shy while she still wasn't able to look him in the eye.

"He's... very friendly, polite and he has a good touch with the kids. Well, if it's about me he seems to keep his distance, he stays neutral and always tries to focus on the case."

The disappointment that swung in her words was rather clear in her tone but got drowned in a bitter laughter that was rarely to be heard coming from her.

Ran rearranged the cutlery on the table while she spoke, moving it to the left and to the right only to place it back to where it had been before, unable to do anything useful with her hands.

"It's weird. I- I just need to look at him and my heart skips a beat! I barely manage to have a clear thought with him nearby. He's-"

'- just like him.' Ran as well as Eisuke finished her sentence, before she quietly continued to speak. Sadness was no longer only in her eyes but was heavy in her voice as well.

"That's not right. That's not supposed to happen. I don't know what's wrong with me."

Eisuke's gaze stayed on his friend. His mouth that had opened itself during her speech, was now as withdrawn as the rest of his face.

What Ran said, wasn't exactly true.

She knew very well what was happening to her, they both knew.

Ran was in love.

Eisuke sighed, he subtly slumped in his seat while his shoulders sagged with a bitter smile.

He was too late.

Again!

The fact that Ran was talking to him about her feelings told him that he was probably stuck in the friend zone forever.

'Damn, that sucks!'

He looked up at the most beautiful, loving and gorgeous girl he had ever met and who he fell in love with at their very first encounter. But her heart had already been reserved for someone else back then. And she had been waiting for him, although she didn't know how he felt about her, let alone if he would ever come back. Eisuke couldn't believe that someone who suddenly came out of nowhere could build such a strong bond with her.

No.

There had to be more about it.

Something they all didn't know yet.

That's why he was now juggling with dates, names and facts, he had a suspicion, an idea that seemed to be impossible, just like last time and yet _he_ had made the impossible possible before. And just this idea led him back to the police officer's question.

 _Who is William Bell._

Only slowly Ran noticed the oppressive silence that hovered over her dinner. Only when she heard how loud their current silence was, she looked up at him with a slightly embarrassed smile.

"I'm sorry. I didn't want to bore you… normally I'd discuss such nonsense with Sonoko. I just got carried away. However…" She leaned forward, looking at him expectantly while sweat formed itself on the forehead of the oh-so-mysterious CIA agent.

"You said that you have something important to tell me? So? What is it?"

"W-What?"

He lost his calm, the corner of his lips started to twitch, making his smile even more nervous. He couldn't tell her about his feelings now, not after what he'd seen… not after what he believed to know now.

Besides - there was something he needed to take care of first.

"Maybe some other time, Ran. I'm sorry that I summoned you here under some false pretense." A sad smile accompanied his words, while he slowly shook his head.

"I'm afraid I have to clear up a few things with someone first."

* * *

 _ **Hey everyone!**_

 _ **Thank you so much for your last reviews, they really warmed my heart. I hope you had fun with this chapter as well.**_

 _ **And of course a big thanks to my amazing beta**_ **Tobina** _ **! Go check out her new Conan storied!**_

 _ **We'll see each other again next month, till then I would love to read form you in the review field right down at the bottom of this page ^.~**_

 _ **Till then,**_

 _ **Shelling~**_


	11. 11 Telltale Lines

**Telltale Lines**

The small kitchen looked like a bomb had hit it.

Stains of coffee were hidden beneath newspapers, books and notes. A half-eaten toast left its crumbs on the table, still waiting for his destiny to be fulfilled.

Embedded in this chaos was no longer Kudo Shinichi, who had been the general of this battleground only an hour ago, but William Bell. Even with the layer of silicon, someone could guess that he hadn't found much sleep this night. He had mostly spent it at the small kitchen table that he had unceremoniously appointed to be his work desk.

But the scribbles at the side of the newspaper, the reference books and notes were nothing but a clever ruse, with which he at least tried to trick himself with. He should be working on the case, decipher the puzzles "Holmes" had given to them in order to prevent further victims.

Shinichi sighed, slumping a little deeper into his chair.

He should be doing that.

But he couldn't.

The wall of work he had carefully built around himself in America was not only crumbling, but was nothing but a dilapidate ruin since yesterday, some rubble that he couldn't put back together. There was nothing left that could shield him from what he had locked up behind it.

Shinichi slowly closed his eyes, trying to focus on today, on the case, on the murderer.

However, anyone would have recognized from his distorted face that he failed, because everything he was thinking of was her. Pictures that had kept him awake half the night, while the other half had been tormented by his dreams.

Eisuke and Ran.

Ran and Eisuke.

Together.

In love.

A couple.

The young detective groaned, drove both hands through Bell's dark blonde hair. Tracy had chosen a good wig for him, the hair felt real, they probably were.

He shouldn't have agreed to take this stupid case!

Okay, he now knew that they all were doing alright, and maybe he even got a new hint to the organization, but… was it really worth it?

Was it right to lie to all of them?

To gain false friends and even worse… false enemies?

Tired, he grabbed the coffee cup, squinted over the rim, while he guided the dark blue porcelain to his lips.

Cold and bitter.

However, he took a strong gulp, ignoring the chill running down his back, caused by the disgusting taste. He probably could have emptied a whole pot of cold coffee last evening without even recognizing it. He probably wouldn't have tasted, let alone felt anything.

It was stupid, Shinichi knew that much, but somehow, he still wished to get this numb feeling back, the void which had been in his head yesterday. But the silence hadn't remained with him for long, because after he had managed to fall into his bed in his trance-like state so that his racing heart had been able to calm down, the silence had been over soon.

The further his heart rate had lowered the more emotions and feelings had caught up with him.

Disappointment, jealously, anger and sadness brought their companions and playmates along and dominated his thoughts. And all of them came with the biggest foe of all his conscience.

Shinichi knew just too well that he should not feel this way, not if he'd been honest with himself all these years.

A bitter smile crossed his lips, he turned the rest of his coffee in slow circles, observing how a small maelstrom opened his mouth in the dark brew.

'I really have become a master of deception, a master of self-deception.' Shinichi sent a muffled laugh ahead before he flushed the rest of the disgusting cold caffeine down his throat.

He could hear the kitchen clock ticking behind his head, which remined him that he could not escape this new day.

'Even if I've no clue how to get through it.'

He had buried the hope that he would not run into her long ago, but Shinichi had to admit that it would be nice if he would not meet Hondo again. It was enough that he had to deal with him in order to confirm if the organization was involved.

'The CIA'

The sleep-drugged eyes of the detective narrowed.

'I really wonder how big this case really is'

With a short moan, Shinichi scrambled up from his chair. He'd just started to sort the few ideas and results for the meeting from the plie of rubbish on his table, when he heard the bell of the small guesthouse for the first time. Just a few seconds later he opened the door for the actual owner.

"Good morning Dr. Matzudo, just come in, I'll be ready in a second."

Shinichi assumed that the pathologist would follow him, so he made his way back into the kitchen. He could feel Matzudo's eyes on the back of his neck and even if he wasn't used to get visitors in New York, Shinichi knew that he was instinctively thoroughly when it came to Bell, so that even his fatigue was no threat to his secret.

Once he was back in the kitchen, Shinichi got rid of the half-eaten toast along with the plate and his mug, putting it into the sink. Only now he became aware of the chaos he'd created in the one night he had spent in the property of the doctor. But before he was able to explain himself or even apologize, his host decided to speak first. The doctor's eyes meticulously studied the crowed coffee table while he spoke.

"It seems like you've decided not to waste the night Professor, any news?" Matzudo was about to turn a piece of paper full of his scribbles before Bell turned around to him, to pick it out of the delicate fingers of the doctor.

"Nothing earth-shattering, I fear." With this confession, Shinichi collected the few usable pieces of paper into a book and tugged it under his arm.

Despite all the kindness the pathologist had showed him, he wasn't about to give him a glimpse at his cards. But when Shinichi looked up to him, an honest smile was displayed on the doctor's lips.

"You intend to solve the case."

"Huh?" Shinichi blinked, because of the strange question, before a sharp smile came to his lips.

"Indeed, I will."

The pathologist clapped his hands with a laugh and adjusted the ring on his finger until he cheerfully nodded to Bell.

"I'm really glad that York was able to convince you to help us. I'm sure you'll be a big asset for this case and the police force of course."

Shinichi returned the smile, heading for the front door getting Bells jacket from the wardrobe, while Matzudo was following him.

"I do hope so, doctor." But the smile faded behind his mask.

'Even when I doubt that the police force shares your opinion - especially one of them.'

XXX

They weren't late this time, so that beside an annoyed Superintendent and a slight bleary couple no one had taken a seat at the conference table. With a brief greeting, Bell joined the small group that had immediately become silent once he and Matzudo had entered the room, before he took his seat opposite of Takagi at the big table.

Hi eyes went to the side, drifting longingly to the wide open window. He didn't know if it was a good idea to mix the sweltering heat outside with the depressing mood inside their room. Although no clouds currently hovered over Tokyo, one could feel that a storm was coming.

While Sato and Takagi debated about how Miwako's mother was spoiling her little granddaughter, Megure and Matzudo were chatting about another pathologist they both knew. Shinichi had no other option than to sort his quickly collected notes. Only when a obviously far too cheerful Hattori Heiji entered the room, Shinichi looked over his glasses towards him.

"Good morning, everyone!"

They greeted back, before Matzudo handed Megure his latest results and disappeared while Heiji took his seat right beside Takagi only to eye Bell with a feigned compassionate gaze.

"Well Professor, ya look like ya had a long night?"

Shinichi looked up into Hattori's cheerful face in annoyance.

The Osakan detective was bothered that Bell didn't look half as sleepy as he had expected, but the murky look and the extensive yawning of the American were reason enough for the little jibe.

Shinichi didn't bother to answer right away. He put the newspaper along with the two minor notes into his notebook. It angered him that he couldn't suppress another yawn, not to mention what he would like to throw at his former friend's head for his dumb comment.

'You're lucky Hattori, that Bell is such a polite guy'

With that thought he folded his hands across his documents to give the detective of the west a meek look over the rim of his glasses. His voice was calm when he finally spoke.

"Forgive me, Hattori-keiji, it seems like I am one of a few that cannot sleep calmly, while a murderer - who we should have arrested long ago - is still on the loose."

Shinichi could see how the corner of his friend's mouth twitched - it seemed like Bell had won the first round between them, after he had finished his sentence with a calm smile that slowly turned into a grin.

'One to nothing for me my friend'

Heiji however mirrored Bell's expression, even if anger still gleamed in his eyes.

'Wait and see, mister.'

But before the nonverbal duel of the two could go into the next round, Megure intervened by clearing his throat, so that the two brawlers finally paid attention.

"Alright, so what do we have, Hattori-kun? Anything new?"

Heiji turned his eyes away from Bell, to explain what results and new questions the day before had brought.

"First, I want ta reassure ya Megure-keishi, yar officers didn't made a mistake. They didn't forget ta ask 'bout other relatives. One could rather say that there just are none."

"What's that supposed to mean?"

Hattori explained the incident along with the young love and its consequences.

"So, we've got a murder on a murderer." The police officer muttered at the end of Hattori's tale.

"Did you figure out the background of the crime back then?"

Heiji looked towards Bell, thinking that the professor might intervene, before he told Megure what he had found yesterday after he had searched half of the database the whole night.

The murder had taken place over twelve years ago, back then the victim and his girlfriend had just met, but there was an obstacle between them. His former ex-girlfriend wasn't able to keep her hands from him, she had followed him, watched him and even threatened him. It was too extreme, so that the whole thing ended in a dispute. She didn't want to let go, he was her possession, but he didn't love her back anymore – so she was threatening his new love when something in him snapped.

"Because of tha rough circumstances tha court had only sentenced him ta several years of imprisonment. That's all I was able ta figure out, since I am here and not in Osaka, I haven't all the access I need." The superintended clearly understood the hint, nodding towards Takagi in request.

"If that's the case we might have records about it. You'll probably even find something in the press archive, Takagi."

"Already done, Megure-keishi."

"Very well, speaking of the press, Sato-keibu did you check on the photographer?"

Miwako nodded, pushing a loose strand of hair behind her ear, before she explained her investigations.

The name of the 28-years old reporter was Kiraba Otuchi. He lived in a small apartment not far from Beika and had smelled his chance for a big deal with the pictures. It didn't matter to him, what the police was thinking about his actions, the officer explained with a tart voice, when a knock on the door rudely interrupted her.

When the door opened after the request of the superintended, the smell of fresh coffee entered the room and helped to forget the fact that they were a little too late, when the audience saw all the brown paper cups of coffee stepping through the door.

A pretty annoyed and contrite Mori Kogoro appeared in the door fame, who – while he spoke to Megure- sent an evil smile to his appendages.

"Please forgive me Megure-keishi, but Ran and the kids wanted to get all of you some coffee, so it took somewhat longer to get here."

Megure just sighed in annoyance. What were a few more strands of grey hair if it earned him a fresh cup of coffee, especially at this time and during this case. He offered Mori to take a seat, before greeting Ran and the kids in their round.

'If it'll continue like this, we don't even need any press to tell people something, we can as well offer them a place at our table.' He groaned and drowned not only one but two pieces of sugar in his coffee.

'Takagi was right yesterday. It's almost like old times.' But instead of smiling, the officer only took a long slip of his now sickly sweet coffee.

Shinichi's heart had stopped beating by the first knock on the door.

He had known who'd been out there immediately.

All he'd wanted to do was to sprint from his seat to seal the door, even if a jump out of the window had also been a nice alternative.

He groaned, sliding a little bit deeper into his seat.

'Why, Ran?'

Even his inner voice held a desperate tone, but how should she know that her pure presence was torture for him.

She didn't even know who he was.

She just didn't know.

"Good morning, Professor!"

Her voice tore him back to reality, but when he saw Ran's bright smile, Shinichi wasn't quite sure if the hell of his own mind wasn't gentler.

She looked at the Professor, slowly growing nervous as she waited for him to mirror her smile, what he didn't. The grey suit he wore today made him look pale, his blue eyes looked through her like she was made of air. Her smile wavered but she kept it confident on her lips before she handed him one of the cups they brought with them.

"Coffee?"

"Huh?" He squinted at her rather insecure and was not able to properly look at Ran. She had pinned her hair up today, so that only a few strands flattered around her face, underlining the slight red touch on her cheeks. A sour taste inevitably crawled up his throat, no doubt she had dressed up especially for _him._ Shinichi's teeth were crunching together, he could not prevent that the corner of his mouth began to twitch beneath the squeezed 'Thank you', he offered to her when he took the cup from her.

Ran noticed the strange behavior of the professor, who just removed the plastic cover from his coffee, but instead of adding any milk or sugar, he just seemed to stare at it. He had been so talkative until yesterday, but today?

Today he didn't even look at her.

'Why?'

She gulped nervously, kneading the coffee cup in her hand, before she started a new attempt to start a conversation with the silent American.

"If- if you would like to, I can show you the city later this day, Professor. I- I mean, it's important to get to know about the locals to figure out the case, right?"

But instead that he finally looked at her, the American just refused her offer.

"Your offer is really friendly Mori-san, but I don't think that I'm worth the trouble. Also… I think you would rather spend the evening with your boyfriend."

"M-My boyfriend?"

Ran's voice sounded hoarse by sheer surprise, unsure and confused she looked to Bell whose attention still was in the depths of his coffee. For a brief moment, heat started to crawl beneath her skin, for only a second, she thought that Bell might be thinking about _him_ … but that couldn't be possible, since… since they never have been a real couple.

How should he now that only one name came to her mind when he spoke about her "boyfriend". The young women swallowed, her cheeks were burning while she spoke in a barely perceptible voice.

"W-who do you mean, Professor?"

She just heard how Bell took a long breath, and for a brief moment she thought that she could see his face convulse.

'Awe come on, Ran, we're to old to play those games.'

Shinichi took the glasses from his nose, brushing his hand over his eyes in order to get rid of the picture of the young pair in the restaurant. Appraising, but unable to really read a single word, his gaze drove back to his note, before he continued in a fake bored tone.

"I'm talking about the young man from last night."

The bitter sound of Bell's voice surprised Ran, who slowly understood who the professor was thinking of.

Shinichi however, had trouble to continue speaking because he tried his hardest not to become loud.

"I'm sure you've spent a nice evening together and I think _he_ would _love_ to join you for a walk through the city."

Ran blinked in surprise, she would have laughed about the thought that Bell believed Eisuke to be her boyfriend, if it not had been for his cold tone, which had hurt at some point. But now she had no other option than to explain it to him with a red shade of embarrassment.

"You're wrong, Professor, Eisuke is just-"

"Ran!"

She twitched beneath Megure's slightly louder voice, turning around to face him. The superintendent couldn't hide the annoyance on his face while he asked them for attention.

"I'm glad that you seem to get along so well with our guest, but I would be rather thankful if I could continue the investigation."

Shinichi's gaze drove to her from the corner of his eye, observing how Ran's own look lowered in embarrassment while she was kneading her fingers in her lap. Blame gnawed on him, digging his way deeper and deeper into his conscience.

It was his fault that Megure was lecturing her.

'Well done, Kudo!'

What a great actor he was, it must be obvious for her that he was jealous, and even if he tried not to be, the thought of Hondo made bile crawling up his throat.

Thankfully, Megure didn't seem to notice any of it, instead he nodded towards Ran, before his attention drove back to everyone else.

"Alright, where were we? The press… right. So, what do you think of this guy, Sato-keibu?"

The police officer put her notes into a neat pile, before she replied with a slight sour tone in her voice.

"We should get a closer look at him in any case. Something about him seems to be not quite kosher. On the other hand, we don't have any evidence, nor a motive or any connection to the victims right now."

Megure nodded gravely. In short, they had nothing.

So far, all their investigations came to nothing while this madman was still on the loose.

"Fine, I want you to keep an eye on him. Let's go on with victim number two. Again Matzudo-hakase's investigations didn't show anything that we don't already now. What've you got Hattori-kun?"

Heiji pushed his report over the table toward Megure, without bothering with too much details.

"Tha questionin' went without much of a result, but at least we were finally able ta get a connection between tha victims."

A brief triumphant smile accompanied his words.

"Tha parents recognized tha first victim on tha photo we showed them. They told us that her daughter had seen this man a few times in a small café nearby, so we finally have our first track."

The older police officer already took a heavy breath, excited to shoot more questions at Hattori, before Bell got between them with a cool and objective tone. The American obviously didn't share the euphoria of his fellow investigators.

"I think we've got even more than "just" the café." His eyes questioningly turned to the Detective Boys, so that his look involuntarily grazed Ran as well.

"Wasn't there something strange about the old couple?"

The high schoolers only shot him confused looks.

"You mean the parents?" Genta looked like someone had just told him that ell on rice had been sold out, but the other detective members also seemed to find it hard to give a response.

"Well, they were a bit… upset."

"And sad, of course," added Ayumi, while her gaze remained pinned on her now empty cup of coffee.

Shinichi only sighed, it was the same with his students in New York. The three of them had been fooled by the obvious behavior of the couple. It was just the reaction someone would expect from parents who'd just lost her daughter to a murder. He didn't know why, but he knew that her parents had not been honest with them yesterday. In response to the suggestions of the three, the detective merely shook his head.

"No, that's not it. I would rather say that-"

"Mr. Bell."

The harsh tone in which Megure interrupted him, made even Shinichi wince. He slowly turned to the officer, who tried to hold up a neutral look, but Shinichi could tell by the twitching of his moustache that he was not amused of Bell getting off topic.

"The two have just lost their daughter, it's no surprise that they are not themselves right now."

Shinichi just wanted to object when Hattori cut him short.

"I think we should focus on the café for now. We might even find something about our murderer, or is there a problem with that, _professor_?"

Bell obeyed the demanding look of his colleague. Just for a brief second the eyes of the two detectives met, before Bell's gaze finally lowered. He could understand that Megure jumped on Hattori's train of thought for now. For one, he wasn't even a real part of the team and on the other hand, Heiji had offered Megure a little spark of hope. No wonder that he didn't want Bell to tell him about his doubts.

'However… a puzzle is just as good as each part of it, you should know that Hattori. What's going on with you?'

But Shinichi's gaze went unnoticed, the officer from Osaka was already about to explain the facts about the small café to Megure, even if the result was rather disillusioning.

In such a case the examination of the café would unfortunately not be as easy as an amateur who had red a few detective novels would expect. They could not just bust in there to interview the guests and owner without that someone would notice that they thought the establishment had some connection to the past murders.

That would not only cause the press to siege the small bistro, but as well bring the chance that the owner would call them in due to defamation so that they would all get an appointment with the court. Both of them where events, which generally weren't appreciated by the police and their superintendent, so that they would rather avoid them under all circumstances.

So it would take some time before they would be able to visit the café.

They would only lose more time.

Time they needed.

Time in which the murderer would be able to choose a new victim.

On the other hand, the rules didn't work for him.

Shinichi couldn't hide a small grin. There had always been a reason that he didn't wanted to get a job on the department.

Because who could have something against a harmless American tourist visiting a cute small café in the city.

XXX

A couple of blocks from the police department away a slightly absent-minded scientist had trouble getting the bite of his morning scrambled eggs down his throat. For one thing his former roommate would not tolerate such a cholesterol bomb, for the other because his stomach was already filled to the brim with doubts and self-recrimination.

What had been hope and relieve yesterday was now replaced by concern that sucked all fortitude from Agasa like a bloodthirsty mosquito. The old man sighed, slipping uneasily back and forth in his chair while his eyes fell on the photo in the newspaper.

Names had not fallen between them just like they hadn't exchanged any promises and yet the old man knew that he would rather ask him to keep quiet about it.

Just like ten years ago.

But just like last time, the professor was torn by his loyalty of two parties. Of course, it wasn't his secret to tell, but on the other hand it seemed just as wrong to keep silent about it.

At least towards his parents.

'In what have you gotten me into this time, Shinichi?'

The scientist swallowed, just for a second his gaze wandered back to his picture in the newspaper. His false image, with a false face, name and age.

The least thing he could do was telling it to him. Maybe he had an idea how to deal with this secret. His eyes narrowed when he pushed himself up from the kitchen table, putting his now cold eggs into the dumpster, his appetite was gone anyway.

However, it was better if he only spoke to him about it. Yusaku could still decide if it was good for Yukiko to know or not. Despite his brave decision, it took remarkably long before the old man reached his neighbor's house and his finger reached for the bell when someone tore the door open in just that moment as if they had expected his coming.

"Good morning, Hiroshi!" Yukiko stopped abruptly in front of him, looking at him surprised, albeit friendly.

"If you want to talk to Yusaku, he has barricaded himself in his library again and when you're on it, tell him that I take his car to go shopping. It's standing closer to the gate."

Agasa's reaction wasn't more than a brief blink, when Yukiko passed him by. Her curls jumped up and down while she ran to the car. The actress was obviously in a hurry. The professor heard how the car howled and slowly closed the door behind him, still a little paralyzed.

Heavy steps guided him through the rooms of the Kudo's manor. He should be happy that routine got its way back into his neighbors live, but he could feel that this was about to change again soon.

Yusaku awaited him in his library. The author didn't look up when the professor entered the room, his fingers hammered on the keyboard of his laptop, while the ash of his cigarette, which was pressed between his lips, slowly braised away without that his lungs got in contact with the nicotine.

Since the professor knew Yusaku well enough, he was sure that the author was aware of his entrance. Just a while after he had closed the door behind him, the rattling of the keyboard stopped and Agasa heard how the laptop slowly drove into standby, leaving the two of them alone.

Before Yusaku looked up, he pressed the puny rest of his cigarette into an empty ashtray. The professor guessed that without Yukiko's aversion against the stench of smoke, it probably would be overflowing by now.

When Yusaku finally looked up to greet him, he noticed the unusual pallor on the cheeks of his neighbor, who now slowly went towards him to settle down on the chair opposite Yusaku.

"Good morning, professor, what can I do for you?"

But the addressee just passes his question with a smile, while his hands nervously struggled in his lap.

"Yukiko just made her way into the city to run a few errands, she asked me to tell you that she took your car, probably because she had no desire do repark it."

Even if Yusaku didn't like the thought that his wife was about to drive his poor old motor at full speed, he wasn't about to react to the professor's maneuver, instead he skeptically raised his eyebrow, while his question held a slight skeptic tone.

"What's wrong, Hiroshi?"

Caught, the old man gasped for air, avoiding the gaze of Shinichi's dad, speaking more into his beard than with his old friend.

"Have you ever heard of William Bell, Yusaku?"

Since the eyes of the professor still rested on his own hands, he hadn't the opportunity to see the authors reaction, and even if - he wouldn't have seen much more but the slight twitch of his delicate fingers.

It took a while before Yusaku moved again, so that the professor looked towards him. The short hiss he got instead of an answer, came from Yusaku's lighter that he just used to light another cigarette.

Agasa's worried look crossed the tabletop. The fact that Yusaku was smoking that much was mostly a sing of stress. But even before the professor could say anything, Yusaku stood up and slowly distanced himself from his desk, before he remained standing with his back to his old friend in front of one of the many bookshelves.

"What about him?"

Agasa gulped, his throat felt as dry as a desert.

"You- I'm sure you know that he's working with the police here in Japan to catch his "Holmes" guy."

The professor couldn't see how goosebumps formed themselves on Yusaku's neck, his heartbeat was fastening while he grumbly agreed with him.

"Mhm… I've read about him in the newspaper. Besides-" He pulled a book off the shelf, before he turned back to his friend putting it down on the desk in front of him.

"As you can see, his work is not entirely unknown to me. What's the matter with him, Professor?"

The author was leaning slightly forward, pushing himself up with one hand on his desk while he was holding his glowing cigarette with the other.

"So?"

Agasa needed to swallow inevitably, he was halfway shocked how gravelly his voice was before he uncertainly began to explain.

"I met him, two- two days ago." He could see the scene displaying in front of his eyes again. It seemed so real that even Yusaku's cigarette started to smell like the smoke of the incense sticks from the cemetery.

How should he tell the author what he had seen?

How should he explain it to Yusaku?

Especially, while he still couldn't explain it to himself.

The truth was that the professor had no idea how Shinichi had done it or how he looked like beneath the mask of the American. The only thing he knew with certainty, even though he could not explain why or how, was that he not only met William Bell a few days ago - but Kudo Shinichi as well.

"It's- it's Shinichi. Bell - he is Shinichi."

The professor had almost pressed out the few words through his lips. Without an explanation, without beating around the bush, just this one truth that spoken out loud only sounded even more implausible in his own ears. Agasa closed his eyes, waiting for Yusaku's reaction.

But there was none.

When his pulse slowly turned back to a normal range, it still was silent around them. Only slowly Agasa allowed himself to reopen his eyes to take a look at his neighbor. But what he saw made him forget to breathe for a few seconds.

Yusaku had not turned away from him, he was still standing quietly before him. The grey remains of his cigarette were building a fragile grey tower at the end of his filter. A dark shadow lingered over the dark blue eyes of the writer.

'What?'

The professor grew pale around his nose. He could feel how little drops of sweat were running down his neck. He stared up at his friend in disbelieve, barely managed to keep his mouth from hanging wide open.

"Y-Yusaku?"

The author swallowed and turned around to avert the professor's gaze that he could feel tingling on his skin before he slowly began to distance himself from him with rigid steps.

Agasa however, didn't share the calm of his friend any longer when it dawned on him what was going on. This behavior was typical, for both father and son.

"Yusaku!?"

The now stern vice of Hiroshi made him stop in the middle of his movements. His pulse was racing and the scientist could hear how his friend took a heavy breath. Yusaku just waited for Agasa to make him speak, but the silence made both of the two men speechless for a while. It took some time until the professor was able to breathe again.

"You- did you know about that? Yusaku, did you know?"

Yusaku, who had heard the rough and accusatory voice of his friend, bit his lips and closed his eyes. He closed his trembling hands into fists, to keep himself under control.

This had been bound to happen.

He swallowed, leaning his had back to stare at the ceiling. He had already guessed what Agasa wanted when he had entered his library all pale.

He should really work on his acting skills. He knew his features had given him away as soon as Agasa had started to talk about him.

'Shinichi…'

The author sighed silently. He had blown his cover, to continue lying to the Professor was senseless now and beside he just couldn't. A sad smile slowly stole itself on his lips.

'Just like you, Shinichi… huh?'

He sighed again and swallowed before he turned back to the professor, who was still standing in front of him, waiting for an answer. His attitude and the fact that he was avoiding his eyes was all the professor needed for his suspicions to be confirmed. He couldn't believe what was happening here.

"So, you knew, all the time. And you didn't tell us anything? Damn it, Yusaku, you knew and yet all of us thought that-"

"Hiroshi, please."

Yusaku interrupted his friend in a calm tone, the at the beginning whispered words were starting to get loud. The old man just shook his head and let himself sink back into his chair in sheer exhaustion, before he tiredly rubbed his temples.

"I- I just can't believe it."

The writer bit his lips, he went back to the table but kept standing, just finally extinguished his cigarette that he merely tasted but not smoked.

"I never really knew for sure."

"But, you just-"

But Yusaku blocked him with a move of his hand.

"I had my suspicions, yes, but I never truly knew, not until now."

The author finally settled down in his chair with a weary sigh, driving his hand through his hair. He still wasn't able to look the professor in the eye, who was still shaking his head in disbelieve.

He just couldn't understand it.

"But how? How for God's sake did you… or - has he told you something?"

"No." Shinichi's father took a heavy breath, leaning back in his chair, staring at the light on the ceiling.

"I just told you that I didn't know about it."

When his eyes lowered themselves, the professor recognized a hint of pain in them, what confirmed that Yusaku was speaking the truth. The writher however, went back to his explanations.

"Here." He straightened in his seat and passed the book that he had previously taken from the shelf over the desk to the professor.

"He could've just sent me a fingerprint, it would have been the same." Yusaku laughed humorlessly, shaking his head.

"The style, the manner of writing and his choice of words are always allowing conclusions about the author. For a stranger all those things are just a style to recognize, but for someone who personally knows the author it's like a personal signature that he left behind every single time, if he wanted it or not."

For a brief moment, Yusaku's fingers brushed over the golden letters that spelled out the author's name. A little smile flickered on his lips, while his eyes got stuck on the alias.

'It seems like you're still not very creative with that one right, Shinichi?'

But the longer his eyes rested on the fake name of his son, the faster his smile vanished from his lips.

"How is he?"

Agasa blinked, he looked towards Yusaku who now met his eyes with a stern gaze, but not only his words but his face also held worry in it. He hadn't heard from his son the past ten years.

The old man swallowed, tugging at his collar, but neither the answer nor breathing became easier that way.

"Ah… I'm not sure. As far as I can tell, I would say he's alright. Even if he looked a little upset, given the circumstances."

Yusaku immediately realized that the professor's thoughts went back to his meeting with Shinichi, his dull eyes drifted to the side in memory, so that the author had to make himself noticeable again, to get his attention.

"So?"

The professor bit his lips, nervously wriggling about in his seat.

"Well… our meeting, we- I met him at the cemetery," the professor stuttered, but one short look to Yusaku told him that he wasn't satisfied with his response yet.

"I was at her grave. I think- I don't know whether he was searching for it. He at least seemed shocked to me."

Yusaku swallowed, but the lump in his throat didn't move.

"So, he hadn't seen it yet…", he murmured, more to himself than to his visitor, while thoughtfully brushing his finger through his moustache.

The professor however looked up again. He wasn't sure what Yusaku meant, looking up to him in slight confusion.

"What? What do you mean, Yusaku? He- Shinichi has to know that-"

"No. No, Hiroshi." The tone in which Yusaku spoke to the professor wasn't loud, but determined just like his eyes, which's sharp gaze was now focused back to Agasa.

"I don't think he knows."

"Yes- But!"

But the author waved him off.

"It's not important for now, beside these are all just assumptions." Without looking back to Agasa again, Yusaku questioned him further.

"You haven't told anyone else about your suspicions, right?" The slightly raised eyebrow of Yusaku was answered with a shake of the professor's head.

"No, of course not."

"Alright. It's better if it stays that way, for now."

His neighbor made a face like he had just bitten into a lemon.

"But Yusaku, he might need our-"

"Help?" Yusaku only shook his head.

"If he needs it he can get it. But we do no longer know the case well enough, professor. Trust me, I don't like it either, but if we act now we probably only cause more harm than we're able to help."

As calm as Yusaku's voice seemed, when he finished his sentence the professor had the unmistakable feeling that the words "I'm sorry" lingered on the author's lips.

Because that's what Yusaku looked like right now.

He was sorry.

Sorry that he wasn't able to do anything.

Yusaku needed to let Shinichi continue what he was doing if he liked it or not. The professor swallowed, but nodded and followed Yusaku, who now opened his laptop again, to tell his neighbor that way that their conversation was over, at least for now. The scientist however had still something on his mind.

"What about Yukiko?"

The hands of the author stopped immediately and remained frozen on the keyboard. The professor wouldn't have needed to ask this question, they both knew that and yet he did try to stay polite, not jumping to conclusions.

"Does she know?"

The authors answer came reluctantly.

"No… no she don't."

"But Yusaku, she must think that-"

The author just nodded, taking a breathe before he looked into the winkled rimmed eyes of the professor.

"It's safer for her not to know, professor. She's his mother, she would try to help her son at all costs. Rationality aside… she is his mother."

"But-"

"Please, professor. Please." Yusaku looked up, he could tell from the professor's face that he didn't like it, at all. All that aside, he knew that the old man had lost a lot in the last years.

Nonetheless, Agasa nodded, before he finally left the room. The author looked after his old friend rather worried. Even when the knowledge of Shinichi brought relieve with it, the professor now was tormented by the same questions that had haunted his own mind for a while now.

'However, I'll think that we're about to get our answers sooner than we'd like to.'

His eyes fell back to the book that still lay on the edge of his desk. One could see by the cover of the book how well Yusaku truly had studied it. He'd had his doubts but now he finally had his proof.

'You've made your first step back, Shinichi. Like it or not - but your past will overtake you at some point.'

A tried smile lingered beneath the grey tinged moustache.

"Take care of you… _Professor Bell_."

* * *

 _Hey everyone!_

 _A new month a new chapter, like always I want to thank_ Tobina _for correcting this story! And of course a big thank you to those who reviewed!_

 _As always reviews for this chapter would be loved and appreciated._

 _I wish you a nice day/night- till next month._

 _I hope I see you in the reviews ^.~_

 _Shelling~_


	12. 12 Crime and Culprit

**Crime and Culprit**

The air was heavy with water. It infiltrated his lungs, cold and damp. The first raindrops pelted down his shoulders and slowly sunk through his wig, when he finally arrived before the little café. Shinichi didn't need to look up to know that it wouldn't take long until it would pour down. The fake American sighed briefly. He would not get around calling a taxi if he wanted to rescue Bell's visage, so that the rain wouldn't wash away his face.

The heavy clouds darkened the already nightly colored sky and warped the night in a deep black robe. The café, which he stood in front of, became all the more inviting. With a quick glance through the window, Shinichi realized that everything was prepared to close the establishment for the night. The cakes and cookies in the counter were gone, the light was extinguished up to the last few lamps, the chairs were put on the tables and the last guests were long gone. Only the small sign on the white-painted front door awaked some hope in the detective.

 **Open**

'Let's see if I'm lucky for a change.'

Shinichi gently pushed the door handle down, a short smile scurried across his face as the door opened. After Shinichi had entered the warm and especially dry café, he heard the ringing of a few almost ancient bells when the door fell shut behind him. But no one greeted the late guest they had cheerfully announced. Shinichi's view went over the counter, looking for some light in the back room, but there was none.

"Hello?"

But even his call didn't attract enough attention to lure someone out of their hiding. He looked around, stepping further into the room and tried again.

"Hello!"

His tone was light, even if this time Shinichi already suspected that he wouldn't get an answer.

'There is something wrong here…'

His eyes darkened as he slowly went through the small café, only to stop beside the counter, listening into the dark. The raindrops had definitely gained some weight as they pattered in loud chords on the small canopy of the café. He could already her a hoarse rumbling not too far away.

The storm approached.

But it wasn't the thunder that attracted the attention of the detective but an old-fashioned kettle on the stove next to the counter that whistled in a shrill tone. He quietly walked towards it and moved the pot from the stove, before turning it off.

Shinichi's eyes rested on the silver jug, whichs deafening scream now ebbed down to a little pitiful whimper. A lonely porcelain cup with an unused tea bag was placed in reach. Bell's mouth became thin while he looked at the carefully prepared after work tea. Maybe he shouldn't have come here all by himself.

XXX

„I knew it!"

Heiji's hiss formed mist on the windshield against which he was pressing his nose.

Megure however didn't comment his companion's remark. He remained silent and looked to the now again closed door of the small café. More and more raindrops collected themselves on the windshield of his car. If they wanted to see something more than just blurred frames, he would need to turn on his wipers and with them the whole car soon.

Megure directed his gaze to his passenger with a sigh. Heiji wasn't glued to the window anymore, but he still was tense and focused on the small café like he could hear what was being discussed inside. Well, after all he had been right when he had told him that Bell would be here today. A faint smile crept beneath Megure's beard. With all his mistrust, Heiji completely forgot that he probably would have sneaked here tonight by himself, despite all regulations.

But the otherwise always so competent detective couldn't see that he only saw what he wanted to and what fit into the pattern that he'd puzzled together.

But why?

Heiji wasn't usually like this. Not without a reason he'd got promoted by such a young age. So, what was it, that made him so blind in this case?

Of course, the case back then along with Bell and this Holmes guy they needed to catch. On the other hand, Hattori had been so reticent back then, Megure had to worm everything out of him.

Why did Bell affect him that way now?

„Why?"

Megure's eyes that were otherwise covered by the dark shadow of his hat, focused sharply but also curious on his young partner.

Heiji only blinked because of the simple question and looked at Megure from the corner of his eye, so that he could still see if something was going to happen in the café.

"Huh?"

"Why are you so focused on Bell? What about him is bothering you?"

The question hung in the air like the closeness of the approaching thunderstorm. Heavy, sticky and only to get rid of with plenty of water.

Reluctantly, Heiji's eyes now focused themselves on Megure before they went off to the dark grey fixtures of the car. The drumming of raindrops on their roof were louder now. Megure rolled the window down a little to prevent the glass from getting too frogged, still looking at Hattori.

"What is it, Heiji-kun?"

The green eyes focused briefly on Megure then he lowered them again. He could tell Megure everything now. The fact that he had seen that the American had watched Ran and Kazuha, telling him that he had been frozen to the spot when he had seen Eisuke. How tense Bell had been today, while he had tried to get some information about Hondo from Ran. He could tell him that something simply was wrong about this guy. But he didn't. Just like he couldn't tell the now grey haired officer whose life got destroyed so many years ago.

Nevertheless, Megure's eyes still rested on him and he knew the superintendent wouldn't let go without getting an answer this time.

"He knows much more than he lets on."

Megure nodded. "That's what you've been telling me."

But the Osakan shook his head. "No, no that's not what I mean. I don't only suspect it, in fact I know that-"

But the police officer wasn't able to finish his sentence as a piercing scream tore through their conversation.

"Shit!"

Heiji pushed the door open with a curse, running towards the little café.

"Wait! Hattori!"

But Megure's voice was drowned out by the roar of the thunder and even if he would have heard him, he doubted that the officer would have listened to him.

'I knew it!'

XXX

Shinichi started running after he had heard the scream. A fearful whimper sounded through a side door, until he finally stepped onto the small terrace of the café.

The only light came from the dim lamps and got reflected on the wet ground where the rain made them shimmer, so that the floor looked like it was made of hundreds of flickering candles. The rain whipped in his face and the roar of the thunderstorm was no longer just a faint rumble, but all Shinichi noticed at the moment was the scene before him, which suddenly seemed frozen in time.

Her eyes wide open in fear, one hand clutching at her throat, while the other tried to loosen the grip of the gloved fingers that were pressing her mouth shut. The corners of her eyes were filled with hot tears that ran down her cheeks until the salty water suddenly turned a crimson red once it reached her neck. The nylon thread cut deep into her flesh, single drops of blood lined themselves up on the yarn only to from a fragile red necklace by running down her throat.

He had to have a strong grip if he was able to strangle her with just one hand.

Shinichi's eyes fixed him and even if the black hood covered his face, he was sure the killer was staring back at him. The frozen movements of both of them broke, once Shinichi took his first step towards the man clad in back.

Suddenly, everything happed very fast.

The murderer let go of his victim and pushed the young woman vigorously away from him. Shinichi hardly had the time to react. He was barely able to catch her before she could hit the hard pavement. He would have loved to focus on the guy who had tried to kill her right away, but the sudden dead weight in his arms forced him to make sure that she was still alive. Due to the moonless sky, her skin had an even more pale glow to it and her hair had loosened itself from her braid. The loose strands were driven back and forth in the water while her blood soaked the wet ground. Shinichi took a deep breath, gently taking her hand in his own.

Cold.

'No!'

Once again, he felt how Bell's clothes became heavy with the rain, becoming a burden for him more and more. He could feel his own fingertips shivering while he was searching for her pulse, waiting for the saving thrum.

He hated this moment.

He always did, because now, hope and fear would turn into the inevitable truth.

He looked down at the blue tint of her lips when he felt the relieving pulsation beneath his fingertips. The young detective behind the mask took a breath in relief, waiting for a second, third and fourth beat.

The hoarse moaning of the sewer and drain got mixed with a soft wheeze, while her chest raised and lowered itself in an irregular rhythm. But Shinichi had no time to be relax – before he could react, someone had grabbed him from behind and dragged him to his feet. He tried to fight back, but the element of surprise wasn't on his side this time.

The strong gloved grip around his throat pushed the air from his lungs.

'Shit!'

Shinichi could feel the hot breath of his attacker on Bell's cheeks, but the dim light still blocked his view of the murderer. Just when he wanted to fight back to kick his enemy away from him, something hit him in the face.

The pain followed quickly. Shinichi could hear a faint clashing noise in the distance while someone gasped for breath… before everything got quiet.

Time seemed to stand still.

The attack.

The blow.

And now… nothing.

Only the rumblings of the thunder and the orchestra of raindrops made the scene alive.

Both detective and killer were frozen.

Shinichi felt how his breathing got faster, while something inside him cried out in agony and his hand slowly wandered up to the throbbing right half of his face. He already knew what had happened. The thick wet raindrops and the cold wind that he could clearly feel on his face had told him that much. And yet, the detective winced as his fingertips touched his skin…

Shinichi's skin.

'No…'

Goosebumps formed on his arms beneath Bell's wet clothes, while Shinichi noticed that on the side of his face where the punch had hit him, only a few scattered shreds were left behind of Bell's mask.

Shinichi knew that his lie, the persona of William Bell, didn't exist any longer. While the Professor still looked at his opponent from one side of his face, Kudo Shinichi looked at him stunned from the other.

'Fuck!'

Shinichi cursed and gritted his teeth. Of all people, his secret got exposed to a killer who called himself ‚Sherlock Holmes'.

How safe could his secret be now?

Shinichi could feel how his body started to shiver beneath the cold and fear, while he desperately tried to hide it and at least tried to pretend to be calm.

After he had seen the result of his punch, 'Holmes' had reeled back, almost frightened, but now, he woke from his surprise.

Shinichi's eyes grew narrow as he suddenly saw a sly smile beneath the black hood of his opponent, a smile that made Shinichi's stomach turn upside down.

That's it.

He was done for - as good as dead.

If the organization would get to know about it and even if they didn't decide to kill him right away - Shinichi swallowed with a bitter smile on his lips - a few people of the FBI would love to wring his neck.

'Shit!'

He'd ruined it.

Shinichi looked up, the murderer still flashed this annoying smile at him. He knew that he was in control and it was obvious that he was enjoying the situation. Shinichi clenched his hands into fists, he couldn't allow this bastard to escape. But just this very moment, lighting broke the silence between them. Bright blue flashes covered the sky behind the café and Shinichi recognized the following sound of thunder immediately.

'I should have known it. Hattori!'

But the expected smile didn't show on his face. The rain drove the nervousness deeper into Shinichi. Like cold water, it sunk deeper and deeper into him, causing the detective to shiver.

The police sirens silenced even the rain. They became louder with every second now, so that Shinichi had trouble listening to his own thoughts. But that didn't prevent him from guessing what his opponent had in mind. 'Holmes' gaze had also turned towards the emergency lights until his eyes fixed themselves on the detective again.

After the shock about the fact that the police were so close on his heels, Shinichi could see the hated smile again, before it merged with the darkness when the murderer turned around to escape.

"No, you don't!"

Shinichi started to run. There was no way that he would let this monster escape, but his movements slowed down after just a few steps like a broken toy someone had forgotten to wind up.

'No…'

His eyes were cast down, but Shinichi didn't feel the raindrops dripping from his nose, his pupils flashed back and forth while they saw nothing at all.

'No, no, no, no, no!'

The word repeated itself, again and again, without getting quiet.

He couldn't follow him.

He couldn't apprehend him and deliver him to the police… not like this.

His hand instinctively moved to his face.

He couldn't show himself like this.

Maybe… maybe there was still a chance that the killer didn't know who he was. But if he ran after him now and got him, he had to hand him to the police and with that everything he'd done so far would become pointless.

Shinichi closed his eyes. His eyelids trembled when he opened them again, turning to the victim. Slowly, as if he was in trance, he went to her. The red ribbon on her neck was smudged by the rain, but her lips had turned blue and quivered in the cold.

He took a heavy breath, looking back at the café again.

Someone would come, someone would take care of her.

'I'll make it up to you, I promise.'

Shinichi gasped for air again, bedding her head down to pick up his glasses, which the murderer's hit had pushed form his nose. Shinichi noticed the bent side of his glasses but put them in his pocket without caring any further. His eyes fell back to her in worry before he straightened himself again.

He had no choice, too much was at stake.

"I'm sorry."

He couldn't stay.

He couldn't stop the murderer.

All he could do was run away.

Again.

XXX

"Don't you think we should check this place out? That's why we're here, or not?"

"Are you crazy, Genta-kun! If Megure-keishi will notice us, we're out of the case, you know that," Mitsuhiko hissed towards Genta, who was about to grumble back, but Ayumi disturbed him in a calm tone before he got the chance.

"Mitsuhiko-kun is right, Genta and you just saw that Heiji-kun and Megure-keishi went inside the café."

Once again, Ayumi peered around the corner of the small side street, where they had taken position tonight. It was still pouring down, and each of them had to pull together not to flinch every time thunder and lightning would strike through the night. At least the small roof of the shop they were standing before, sheltered them from the rain.

"And the professor is also there, it's better if we stick to Mitsuhiko-kun's plan."

But instead of being pleased by his classmate's decision, the high schooler pressed his lips together, shifting form one foot to another.

"To be honest, Ayumi-chan… that's just what's giving me a headache."

"Huh?"

With that, the freckled member of the detective boys suddenly had their full attention.

"What do you mean by that?"

"Well… it's just - it seems like Heiji-kun doesn't like Bell that much and most of the time that spells out trouble."

"Awe, come on, I'm sure he's probably just annoyed that Bell is better informed about 'Holmes'."

"Psst! Someone's coming!" Ayumi disturbed the two all of a sudden.

The three detectives pressed their backs closer to the wall to merge with its protective shadows. Another noise had mixed itself with the mumbling drains and the tactless drumming of the rain.

Footsteps.

The whip-like sound of water, getting hit by fast and strong steps that headed right for their direction.

"What now?" The sound of Ayumi's voice still sounded the same when she was scared, what made Mitsuhiko swallow.

"That… that must be the killer."

For a short moment silence resided between the three detectives. Of course, it had to be the murderer. Who else would run through the streets at night like being chased by the devil?

One glace at each other was enough and after their silence, fear but also determination reflected on their faces, just like it had ten years ago. They nodded briefly and unanimously before each of them pressed closer to the wall. They would throw themselves at him when he was about to pass by, but for that they needed the element of surprise on their side.

So, they waited, listening into the dark, blurred by the rain.

His hoarse wheeze was slowly getting audible, his breathing shuddered, irregular and was as fast as his steps.

It seemed like he ran for his life.

When he turned into the street they were hiding in, all of them held their breath, but their planned attack didn't happen.

He ran past the detective boys, without that any of them stirred. None of them was able to move, and that although he had just been a few meters away from them.

The face of the alleged murderer had burned itself deep into their memory.

He had pinched his eyes close, he didn't care where his path would lead him to. All that mattered was that he would get away from here. The dark blond hair sat unnaturally askew on his head, so that a few strands of dark brown fringe had found their way outside. The too young face still held a part of another familiar figure. His features suddenly didn't seem to fit his statue.

He hadn't seen them, raced past them without to register them.

His steps had long faded into the distance. None of the three had run after him, no one was able to move – their eyes were directed into the darkness he had merged with.

Ayumi was the first who showed a reaction. She pressed the back of her hand against her mouth. Mitsuhiko only shivered while Genta made a wheezing sound.

"That was…"

'…Bell.'

'…Shinichi.'

But while the two boys only whispered the names in their thoughts, Ayumi was the only one who found her voice, even if it got drowned out by the rain.

"…Conan-kun."

* * *

 _Hey!_

 _Thanks for your response! And of course a big Thank you to Tobina (go read her new story!) for her awesome work as my beta._

 _Now it happened… the first people know about Shinichi's identity. What will Heiji think of the Professor now that he left the crime scene… things are going to be interesting, I promise you ^.~_

 _I would love to hear your thoughts in a little review below!_

 _Till next month,_

 _Shelling_


	13. 13 Detective under Suspicion

**Detective under suspicion**

The air still burned in Shinichi's lungs. He was still racing against the roaring rain, but even if it brought him further away from the crime scene, he couldn't run away from his own thoughts.

His mind was asking questions in various annoying voices.

 _What if she dies? You should have waited! He recognized you! Why have you been there in the first place? Did someone see you? They're all in danger! You've been too late again! You let him get away! It's all your fault!_

'No!'

Shinichi pressed his eyes shut to defend himself from his own mind, he blindly ran through the dark streets of Tokyo and would probably have continued to run forever, but his legs refused to take another step.

The air was heavy with water and made it even harder for him to take a breath, while Bell's wet clothes weighed heavy on his shoulders. His steps slowed down, until he finally stopped, gasping for air. Shinichi shivered, he could feel the small groups of muscles twitch in his legs. He knew that he'd run further than he thought, in fact he had no idea where he was right now.

'Shit!'

Panting, he leaned against a house wall, struggling to get some oxygen into his burning lungs. Up until now, neither direction nor destination had mattered to him, nothing had mattered but getting away from there as quickly as possible. But now his thoughts finally caught up with his mind again.

The evening was far from being over.

When he had heard the police sirens, he'd known that only Hattori could be the cause of it and until now he had successfully suppressed the consequence of his deduction. Shinichi knew that Hattori probably had been close, he guessed his friend had wanted to take a look at the Café as well. And if he'd seen Bell getting inside, the next deduction of his friend could only lead to one thing.

"Damn it!"

Shinichi drove a hand through his hair with a curse and finally ripped what was left from Bell's wig from his head. With an expressionless face the detective stared at the wet bundle in his hand.

There was nothing he could do about it now, he had to get home, fast. With quick hands the detective got rid of the last remains of the criminology professor on his face. A cold shiver ran down his spine when he put the soaked wig back on his head. He tried to comb through the wet hair with his fingers while a few big cold drops of water ran down his back. After he disposed the remains of Bell into the nearest dumpster, Shinichi pushed William's glasses back onto his nose. One of the small glasses had a crack, but he thought that it did most likely fit to the rest of his appearance.

However, that'll have to do as a disguise. Like himself, the rain seemed to slow down, while Shinichi wandered towards the main road to get himself a taxi.

The last drops fell heavy and cold to the ground, the rain finally changing into a muffled drumming, which seemed to carry an ominous message with it and followed the detective through the dark streets of Tokyo.

XXX

With a sinister face, Heiji's eyes followed the ambulance that carried the supposedly third victim to the nearest hospital.

She'd been lucky.

Without averting his eyes from the ground, Heiji went back through the little Café's rooms towards the terrace. The rain hadn't left them much behind, most of their evidence got washed away and the hoarse gurgling drains seemed to have swallowed the culprit as well. Despite the unpromising situation, the eyes of the detective went back to the crime scene.

The case was not over yet.

The young officer stepped beneath the provisionally set up tent, even if there wasn't much left to shelter at this crime scene.

"How's she?" With that question Megure stepped beside him, Heiji's answer was accompanied by a few raindrops that fell onto the tent in a mocking whisper.

"She's alive, so far so good. However, we have ta see how quickly she's able ta be questioned and how much she'll remember anyway."

"Mhmhm…" But before the officer could expand his muttering, he got interrupted by Heiji.

"Anything new of him?"

Megure's mustache twitched dangerously. This case would earn him a few more grey strands in his beard for sure. Even if he would've rather bitten his tongue, he knew that he owed his young collage an answer.

"No, nothing."

"Megure-keishi, you know-"

"Yes. Yes, I know, Hattori." The police officer's voice held something rough despite his understanding tone.

"I know and we're going to act accordingly. We can no longer ignore it… international relationships aside." Megure's view sneaked to the face of the Osakan, but instead of showing a satisfied grin, the face of the young officer was still tense. He sighed inwardly. This case wasn't any good for Heiji. The faster they could solve it the better.

Heiji winced briefly, when he suddenly felt Megure's hands heavy on his shoulders, which he squeezed briefly.

"We'll set off in a minute."

Heiji just nodded, his eyes followed Megure, who was speaking with his fellow officers.

The gaze of the detective went over the crime scene one more time.

A few of the tiles still held slightly red sheen, but beside the thin blood track and the piano string that was already secured as evidence, nothing showed that this place was a crime scene. It was impossible to hope for fingerprints on the weapon and the DNA one could have hoped for was already washed away by the rain.

As if this case wasn't hard enough already.

Heiji pulled the collar of his coat up and stepped away from the tent to inspect the rest of the terrace. A white plastic plate in front of his feet marked the spot where they had found the piano wire. The officer crouched down. His eyes wandered to the sheltered part where they'd found the victim and back to the little white sign before him.

Why was the weapon here… so far away from the victim?

And why had the culprit left behind in the first place?

It would have been no problem to put the string into his pockets to get rid of it later.

'That's strange...'

But before he was able to let his thoughts drift further down this road, his gaze suddenly caught something else between the tiles, stuck in a joint. Something was drifting in the water, wiggling back and forth like a tiny fish. The eyes of the detective narrowed, goosebumps immediately formed underneath his damp clothes. Heiji struggled to pull some gloves over his hands that where wet from the rain.

The rubber stuck to his skin and gave his otherwise healthy taint a pale almost lifeless touch.

But the officer couldn't care less for his appearance instead he already was in progress to free the little scrap from its prison. The small piece had the color of human skin, but much thicker and without its typical structure.

'But that's…'

Heiji felt a cold shiver running down his spine, when he recognized what he held in his hand.

Finally.

Finally, everything matched.

The police officer swallowed, he couldn't tear himself away from the little bit of silicon in his hands. But even when everything now fit into the scheme, the fact that he finally had a lead in the case felt like a punch in the stomach of the detective. The joy of success turned into an uneasy feeling that seemed to cut his air off.

This one required tact.

He'll need to choose the right moment… to finally bring him down.

A pale smile appeared on Heiji's lips, while his eyes held a shimmer many criminals had learned to fear.

'I got you… finally.'

"Hattori?"

Heiji winched involuntarily and quickly hid the found treasure in his hand.

"Everything alright?" Megure who slowly came towards him shot him a skeptical look, but the caught expression on his face quickly changed into a board smile.

"Sure is." But the slightly awkward smile soon got serious.

"Ready ta go?"

For a brief moment, the eyes of the old officer rested on him. Heiji seemed nervous and somehow his behavior was off, but maybe it was due to the fact that the man finally got what he wanted.

A single nod was enough for Heiji to follow him. Without another word they got into Megure's car and his evidence had disappeared safely into his glove and his pocket.

If he had to, he would inform Megure about it, but for now it was a matter between Bell and himself.

XXX

He was sitting on the sofa, on the exact same spot where he had been sitting an hour ago, motionless as well as useless. Shinichi had changed to slip back into the mask of William Bell again. He'd been surprised that he'd managed to put the mask on to hide the high-schooler beneath it without trembling fingers. In fact, he was unusually calm at the thought what Heiji might have in store for him now. He was sure that it would not be easy to stand on the other side of justice for the first time.

But there was nothing he could do against it.

He had to lie and deny further if he wanted to protect those who were important to him.

Maybe that is what made him so placid. The knowledge - or at least the hope that he was doing the right thing after all.

Of course, he suspected that it would probably not stay that way. Things would get much worse than they already were, but still - it was better they suspected William Bell to be a murderer than getting to know his secret for real.

Shinichi swallowed. He felt how nausea slowly began to rise in his throat, but he had to keep himself together – otherwise he wouldn't survive what was about to happen.

After all, he knew just too well what was waiting for him. Each of them was lurking for him to make a mistake, just one tiny error that would allow them to put the blame of the murders on his doorstep.

Just what the press, but also the police had been waiting for.

But for now, he had to play along, even if just for a while, because while the police were wasting time with him, the true murderer was still running free.

The high-schooler cursed and tousled Bell's hair with his fingers.

'Yeah… not like I've already made it too easy for him tonight already. It's not enough that I let him escape like that, no it's like we're in cahoots together!'

Shinichi had trouble to swallow the bitter taste in his mouth, but it was the truth no less. The fact that he was spoiling the case like that raised some doubts inside him.

Of course, they had to think that he was involved in the attack on the owner of the Café. Not enough that she'd seen him, no, the fact that he _wasn't_ there when they had reached the crime scene was the node that let the noose around his neck tighten.

He did not help the victim, but he hadn't followed the culprit either. No, he ran away like a coward, like someone on the run, someone… who was hiding something.

Shinichi denied himself a bitter smile, it wasn't like these accusations were completely wrong, just the opposite, they were all true. That's why he had no choice but to maintain his lie.

'At least until I can figure out something else.'

Shinichi's eyes grew dark and drilled holes in the small living room table in front of him. His thoughts revolved around the murderer, his cold smile, and just reached the question who he might be when a loud knocking on the door made him look up.

The detective took a heavy breath while his eyes wandered towards the hall.

'Well… I guess that's it.'

Shinichi swallowed and closed his eyes. He tried to compose himself once more, but the now loud banging on the front door made it impossible. The criminology professor pushed himself up with a sigh and slowly went into the hall to open the door for his annoyingly loud visitors.

"A simple ring of the door bell would have been just fine, Hattori-keiji."

The officer from Osaka marveled briefly over the calm behavior of their suspect, before his expression grew hard again. It seemed like nothing could shake this guy.

'Just wait for it, Professor, ya'll not get away that easily this time!'

While Heiji's mind was making plans, Shinichi finally dared to look up, only to regret it immediately. His gaze wandered over Heiji's and Megure's faces. Both of them gave him a cold look, a look Shinichi knew just too well, but… one that they had never held for him. But now their eyes burned on his skin.

He never thought that it would hurt so much.

Their expression had nothing kind left in in. Megure's gaze was appraising, like he feared that Bell could escape them every second, but maybe he was just thinking about the victims of the murderer and pictured their faces beside William Bell's.

Shinichi swallowed and immediately avoided their eyes, when Heiji's gaze hit him the hardest. It was no wonder that his old friend was out of sorts with him. The little quips he'd coped with, but this… The fact that the eyes of his best friend suddenly accused him to be the culprit hit a nail in his chest. The detective inhaled softly, he couldn't hide a sad smile on his lips, probably because he was right.

"Do you know why we're here, Professor?"

Shinichi looked up, surprised by Megure's voice that had penetrated the silence around him. It took some time until he was able to response.

"You're here to detain me temporary, because of the urgent suspicion of attempt murder tonight."

The American's eyes only now looked at Megure again, his tone was sober and bore no trace of mockery.

"I'm right - am I not, Megure-keishi?"

Megure just blinked due to the calm and frank speech of the criminalist, but he composed himself with a stern nod.

"That's right, Mr. Bell."

The last spark of hope that Megure would trust him just vanished from Shinichi's body. His eyes wandered back to the ground. He didn't dare to look up again but closed his eyes in surrender before he replied.

"If you deem it necessary, Megure-keishi."

Megure looked at the American professor. Why was it so hard for him to arrest this guy? Somehow, he had managed to raise doubt in the old police officer, while it seemed to be fact that Bell was hiding something. Maybe not the murder - but something connected to the case. Nevertheless, Megure nodded towards Takagi, who stood behind him only to step forward now.

Just when he heard the metallic click of handcuffs, Shinichi came around again. He stared down on the cold metal around his wrists. Takagi led him to the car by holing his shoulder. Shinichi's eyes never left the handcuffs while the officer recited the familiar sentences.

"You have the right to remain silent."

The detective could already feel the metal cutting into his skin. His hands suddenly seemed foreign with the unusual bracelets. Blue eyes flickered beneath the layers of silicone and color with a bitter smile. Actually, the situation nearly was amusing, because the faces of Hattori and everyone else once they would know, _who_ they really arrested right now would be screamingly comical.

"Anything you say…"

It could be… if it wasn't for the fact that his lies were covering the true culprit or the fear that the last ten years would be for nothing, then the situation might even be funny.

But right now, the charge held some truth and Shinichi could only hope that his true crime would continue to remain unchallenged.

"…can and will be used against you in a court of law."

The silence in the car was filled with tension, even the quietly whirring heating couldn't do anything about it. He was sitting in the back along with Takagi. While his former colleagues fixed him in the rear-view mirror, the officer beside him was the only one who avoided his gaze. Shinichi himself wasn't able to look at anyone. Bell would get his performance later, but first Kudo Shinichi was in the need of some rest.

The detective took a tried breath, he couldn't suppress the cold shiver that ran down his spine, despite the now dry clothes. It seemed like the cold of the rain was still in his bones, so that the cool air of the obviously broken heating brought him chills.

His eyes still rested on Bell's hands. The handcuffs around his wrists reflected the colorful lights of Tokyo's streets, which passed by them like ghost lights. With a tried sigh, Shinichi's eyes wandered to the window, but instead of the streets, the glass showed him a different picture.

Bell.

A transparent shade of a ghost, who looked at the detective with empty and helpless eyes.

Shinichi's gaze drifted from the dull eyes to the slight transparent face of the Professor. Bell's form seemed to fade into the darkness, it was like the black emptiness itself had put him into chains.

The sight of the criminology professor in handcuffs was more than strange for the young detective. Shinichi sighed briefly before Bell's transparent lips reflected his tired smile.

That wasn't how he'd planned his visit to Japan.

* * *

 _Hey everyone!_

 _A little early this month, but since I have to stay at home because of a bad cold today I though I could as well post it._

 _I hope you had as much fun reading it, as I had writing it *muhaha*_

 _It was a pleasure to put Shinichi in such a situation for once!_

 _Thanks for your reviews and of course a big thank you to Tobina for her amazing beta work._

 _Please leave a review behind! It will brighten my day ^.^_

 _Till next month,_

 _Shelling ~_


	14. 14 A different kind of Questioning

**A different kind of Questioning**

He was lucky that the head-quarters had been nearly empty. A few charwomen and some officers armed with cups of coffee were the only witnesses who observed how the man who had opened these very doors by himself yesterday, was now warried through these halls in handcuffs.

They had led him straight into the small interrogation room, where they had left him to stew for what felt like an eternity. At least they had taken the handcuffs off, but the small plastic chair Shinichi was sitting on constricted him enough already.

He never sat here before.

Sure, he'd been sitting on the other side of the table a few times, as well as behind the window which was disguised as a mirror.

But here, never.

This place was reserved for culprits… thieves, burglars and murderer.

Lairs.

Disgust rose inside him, but not against those who had sat here before, but pure disgust against himself.

He should never have let it come so far.

'No…calm down.'

Shinichi closed his eyes. He could feel his eyelids shivering from the anxiety and tension, but he had to let go of that thought for now, his role demanded it. Only if he played it well enough, he would stand a chance to get through this evening.

After all, William Bell had done nothing wrong and if Shinichi still believed in something then it was the fact that his old friends would be good enough to realize this at some point.

He could hear how the door finally opened, but Shinichi only opened his eyes once his "visit" had entered. The door fell shut behind the three men, while Bell's eyebrows shot up in surprise.

"Huh? Is Hattori-keiji not interested to take part in our conversation?"

Megure's eyes escaped him for just a second after he'd settled on the chair opposite Bell, but the short glance was enough to confirm Shinichi's suspicion.

'What's going on, Hattori? That's what you've been waiting for, isn´t it?'

With a brief smile, Shinichi's eyes wandered to the mirrored glass, where his friend was obviously hiding behind, while Bell's shameless grin would rise the wish in Hattori to wring his neck- no doubt. But the truth was that Shinichi was rather relieved that the Oskan left him in peace and he'd _only_ need to explain himself to those present.

'But still… you've got to know something, Hattori, why else did you suspect me right from the beginning. It was pure accident after all that played into your hands.'

The detective swallowed, but his eyes still rested on his invisible friend.

'Please just don´t go any further. You've figured me out once Hattori… but believe me a second time would do you none of us any good.'

But Bell, who stared at him instead of Heiji in the reflection of the glass answered him as little as the detective of the west himself, so that he had no other option than to turn around to face what was ahead of him.

While Megure, and to Shinichi's sorrow Kogoro, had taken their seats opposite him, Takagi had positioned himself in front of the door, which wasn´t unusual for the officer, at least not when he had no intention of asking questions. And yet, every time when Bell's eyes met the curious glance of the detective, Takagi seemed to show a huge interest for the tips of his shoes.

Interested Shinichi peered over the edges of his glasses towards him.

'What is it, Takagi? I know you… don´t tell me you believe that William Bell is innocent?'

But the little joy about the possible confidence of the officer quickly got dimmed by Megure, who had switched the tape recorder on with a soft click.

"You know that you've got the right to get a lawyer, Mr. Bell?"

Bell nodded, but the clam smile on his lips vanished.

"I know Megure-keishi, thank you. But I think it's better to keep this between us for now. However, I would first like to point out that every single second you're spending with me, the true murderer is still running free and I've no doubt that he'll kill again."

The voice of the criminalist held a hard determination, which seemed rather familiar to Megure, but the hollow laughter of Mori by his side didn´t let him follow this thought.

"Ha! We'll see if we're truly wasting our time. Who knows, maybe we've got the culprit right in front of us and he's only luring us into a trap to-"

"That's enough, Mori-kun. I believe Professor Bell is aware of his situation."

While Kogoro seemed to have trouble to swallow the rest of his sentence, Megure turned back to Bell again.

"All right, Mr. Bell, we know that you've been in the Café we've mentioned in the meeting, just before it closed-"

"You only know about that because Hattori-keiji thought it would be wise to shadow me, even though I guess that he was just concerned about my safety of course."

Megure's mustache twitched since the detective had caught him, but the brash tone nearly drowned in the silence before the old police man replied in a murmur.

"Well, at least it's a fact that you've been there yesterday evening, so would you please enlighten us about what you've been doing?"

While Megure had been rather calm until now, his analyzing gaze now made Shinichi's skin crawl.

"And Mr. Bell… I doubt that I have to remind you that you're the prime suspect in a murder case right now."

'Yeah, but you've got the wrong guy!'

Shinichi swallowed and shrunk a little deeper into his chair, when he noticed that Megure's words felt like another punch in the gut. They wouldn´t make it easy for Bell. While the real killer was still on the run and probably waiting to strike again, they played a silly match of hide and seek. All he had to do was to tell him the truth, they would believe Kudo Shinichi for sure.

'Instead I'm sitting here hindering the investigations with my lies.'

Shinichi suppressed a hoarse laughter and lowered his head with a bitter expression.

'You're one hell of a great detective, Kudo.'

XXX

He could hear the professor's voice clear through the speaker, who just started to explain what had happened, but the way he told them about it let a shiver run down his spine. Heiji clenched his teeth until they crunched, but he couldn´t care less about it right now, his excitement and anger needed to go somewhere.

The decision to stay behind the scenes to wait what was going to happen hadn´t been easy for him, but he knew himself and his often too hot temper well enough by now that he would make a mistake if he was with them in the room.

He wouldn´t be able to hold back.

What he wanted from Bell wasn´t for the ears of the police, at least not now. Until he had something concrete in his hands, this would remain between both of them.

'And believe me _Professor_ , I'm not goin' easy on ya this time.'

XXX

They were all listening carefully to Bell before Megure interrupted.

"But if you fought him, you must have seen his face! If it's true what you're telling us, you must be able to describe him." His eyes rested on Bell and even when he now lowered his gaze, Megure could see that his mind was working behind the narrow glasses. His mustache twitched briefly, he knew that expression. Bell's foreign face was showing rather familiar traits that gave him the chills.

'Ah… now I see.'

Once again, the officer's eyes wandered to the side, he could almost feel Hattori's eyes on his back and finally Megure believed to know why the detective had focused himself on Bell right from the start.

"He was about my size, even if not quite my stature."

"And yet he was able to overcome you?" Kogoro's tone was appraising while one of his eyebrows moved upwards.

Shinichi however just gritted his teeth. He couldn´t tell him that Bell in truth possessed the body of a seventeen-year-old high-schooler and unfortunately also only his strength. Let alone that he'd literally lost his face due to the murderer.

"I just guess the punch hit home," Bell muttered instead, slightly ashamed and automatically touched his right cheek.

"Right… so maybe he's left handed?"

"We can´t tell that for sure. Nothing else? You haven seen his face at all?" Megure gave him an urgent look, Shinichi knew that the officer would prefer if he could give him name, appearance and address of the killer, but it just wasn´t that easy.

"No, I fear that's all I can tell you, since he escaped the second you arrived."

Megure used the short sincere repentance in Bell's voice to question him further.

"What about yourself? You haven´t been there either once Hattori-keiji reached the crime scene."

The poker face that Shinichi had a hard tome to build up during this interrogation crumbled for a second. He took a sharp breath, they finally had hit the weak spot of his story.

"Why didn´t you wait for us? Why haven't you told us in what direction he fled or at last you could have taken care of the girl!"

But Megure's urging voice didn´t help. Bell's gaze avoided his, but at least his voice was still calm.

"I made sure that she was fine, and you've been close by already so that I was sure that someone would take care of her soon."

"That still doesn't explain why you didn´t call for us or at last waited there! What the heck have you been doing there anyway?!"

Megure's voice held a pleading touch and it was true that he really hoped that the American was able to give them a more logical explanation for his behavior than he had until now. It wasn´t because he wanted to avoid the international problems or because he should be laying peacefully beside Midori by now, no… by some reason he wanted to believe Bell.

A sad smile appeared on Bell's pale lips, the otherwise so clear blue eyes bore sadness when he looked at the officer.

"I'm sorry, Megure-keishi… but I fear that's a question I can´t answer."

"Please Professor, think about it!"

The suddenly pushing tone surprised not only Shinichi, but Takagi and Kogoro as well, who looked at him in surprise. But Megure kept his gaze fixed on the much to familiar eyes, he couldn't shake of the feeling that there was something to repay, that he couldn't allow Bell to lie or keep silent. He had no idea why he reacted like that, everyone else would say that it was unprofessional, but he had to try at least.

'Megure…'

Shinichi swallowed, again there was a bitter smile shining through the mask. His old friend sensed more than what was good for him. Megure might not be aware of who was sitting before him, the current high-schooler knew that much and yet Megure's plea was directed towards Kudo Shinichi… not William Bell.

'I just fear that it's not so easy.'

Bell looked up again and the officer saw the regret in his eyes and immediately knew what the detective had decided.

"I'm sorry, Megure-keishi… but I've to stick with what I've told you."

The police officer gulped bitterly, the shadows in his eyes grew darker.

"You decline to answer in this point?"

"If you want to put it like that… yes."

Bell looked up again and the officer could see the true regret in his eyes and sighed, massaging his temples tiredly.

"If that's the case, we can't do nothing else right now."

"Not quite."

"What?"

Bell's lips had regained their superior smile, the manner in which he put the tips of his fingers together while he sunk a little deeper into his chair caused goosebumps to rise on Megure's skin.

"In your theory I'm the murderer, right? Unfortunately, your deductions are completely wrong."

"What! How dare you-"

"Mori, please. Go on, Professor.."

Bell nodded gratefully towards Megure before he began to explain.

"Let's start with the easiest. It's simply impossible that I've committed the first murder, even with the press bussing about the case, I have to confess that I had no idea about it before York had given the case to me. And I believe that the university as well as my students would be willing to confirm that I've not been to Japan during the murder. The same is true for the second murder as well."

Both Megure and Takagi clung to the lips of the criminalist, only Kogoro glanced disdainfully towards his pack of cigarettes. Should the guy tell them what he wanted, it was this guy's fault that he had to pull an all-nighter anyway. Kogoro could nearly taste the cold ash in his mouth. There was another reason why he couldn't stand this guy.

Takagi, who's legs had grown tired from the way he was standing by the door now remembered his first encounter with the American. The strange feeling, he had when Bell analyzed the crime scene suddenly caught up to him, finally he knew who he'd owned the flashback to.

'No wonder that everyone is acting strange around him… after everything that happened back then.'

Bell however didn´t seem to notice their glances, his position had shifted, he was in charge again, back in his element and no longer just a mere suspect in this case.

"Of course, you already know that, so that we've not many possibilities left. Either the murder attempt of tonight has nothing to do with the two others, which would be rather strange according to the connection of the victims. The second possibility is of course that I hired someone for the first two murders, but with all due respect, Megure-keishi, you're still nowhere close to solve the case, so why should I feel the need to come and finish off the last victim myself? Your theory that I'm involved with the murder just doesn't fit."

"Jezz… no wonder that Ran has fallen for your, you're as much as a blabbermouth like he was." Kogoro's cigarette bobbed between his lips when he spoke, the detective however sensed there was something else in his tone than just contempt.

"Mori! That's enough and for god's sake put that cigarette away. You've to see that the Professor has a point."

Shinichi was suddenly deaf for everything around him, he neither heard Megure rebuke nor Mori's small apology. When Kogoro mentioned her name his heart had stopped for a moment. But just this organ started to work now once more, reacting faster than his mind could, so that a soft question passed Bell's lips.

"Ran? She's been talking about me?"

"Huh?" All three looked up at him in surprise, Kogoro's gaze grew suspicious soon until Shinichi realized that he'd made a mistake and now awkwardly tried to smooth it over.

"I-I mean - she's your daughter, right? The young woman seemed a little stricken after we saw the families of the victims."

But before Mori had a chance to react, Megure cut in between with a strict tone.

"The case is hard for all of us, Mr. Bell."

He cleared his throat and broke through the heavy silence around them before he switched the recorder off.

All right Professor, if what you say is true, the owner of the Café can confirm your statement as soon as we can question her."

"That means she's going to be fine?"

Megure could hear the relief in Bell's voice, so that he finally nodded towards him with a small smile.

"Yes, she is going to be all right. Everything should become clear soon, but for now we have to take you into custody until then."

Shinichi just shrugged and gave Megure a weary smile.

"If you consider it necessary, Megure-keishi."

It was obvious that Megure wasn´t comfortable to follow the rules. Even if this guy was hiding something from them, Megure couldn't believe him to be a murderer. But even he had some rules he had to follow.

"All right, someone is going to pick you up soon, but for now I have to ask you to wait here."

With this sentence Megure and Kogoro had pushed themselves up from their seats and while Megure still avoided his gaze, Kogoro only shot him a disapproving look.

"Ah, but Megure-keishi?"

Shinichi looked up to him and tried to ignore how familiar the perspective suddenly was but instead put a bitter smile on his lips, while Megure raised an eyebrow.

"Mhm?"

"Would it be possible to get a single cell? I've heard that a criminalist in a cell with some criminals isn´t very welcome there."

The police officer blinked about the fact that Bell put this wish like he was at the check-in of a hotel. Megure tugged his hat deeper over his face while his murmured replay got caught in his beard so that it got hard to understand.

"I'll make sure to adjust something…"

XXX

Inside the interrogation room night passed into day seamlessly, while a few streets away the first cup of coffee was brewed.

"I don´t know when Sonoko, Kazuha has to figure that out first."

Ran was still in her bathrobe and searched for the right outfit for today, with the phone tugged between her ear and her shoulder, while she had to take care not to lose the towel on her head.

"I told you that I don´t know. Heiji is involved with the case and Kazuha doesn't want to park him by his parents."

Satisfied with the clothes she picked, Ran took the phone back into her hand and went into the kitchen along with the slightly annoyed Sonoko on the line.

"But tell me Sonoko, how are you? I thought that Makoto was back, so don´t you want to spend some time with-"

"Oh nonsense!" But beneath the obvious faked tone, Ran could hear some repressed anger in her friend's voice.

"He's touring from one tournament to the next the whole year," Sonoko huffed. "So If I plan to do something without him, that's just more than fair."

But Ran's face twitched into a skeptical frown. "Sonoko… could it be that you're only planning this trip to let Makoto taste his own medicine?"

"B-But Ran! What are you thinking?!" She could have sad yes right away, because the slight caught pitch in her tone was enough for Ran to confirm that she was right.

"Because that just sounds like one of your crazy plans, Sonoko!"

"Fiiine you got me. But what else can we women do, we have to get creative to keep our men under control."

"Maybe…" But Ran's voice didn´t mirror the enthusiasm of her friend, her tone held more of a rather sad touch.

"But you know Sonoko… I think you should rather use your time with Makoto. You miss him enough already when he's traveling."

Sonoko winced briefly at the other end of the line. She suspected where the thoughts of her friend were going and that was a path which never led to something good. It was time to prevent that.

"Let that be my concern, Ran! I am really looking forward to spending some time with you and Kazuha! She has some free time and you've got holidays, so its perfect!"

Ran bit her lips, she wanted to say something but then dismissed the thought.

"I guess you're right…"

"Of course I am! So, what do you want to do? We could start with shopping, then we could eat something before we go on with karaoke and-"

While Sonoko explained her ideas to her, Ran went into the living room to finally get a taste of her coffee when the TV made her stop. She turned the news on every morning, probably an absurdity she'd inherited from her father, but it wasn´t a bad thing to know what happed in Tokyo and the world after all. This morning however, she stopped in front o the TV and took a few steps back to get a better view. She couldn´t care less for the concerned expression of the female presenter when she heard the latest news.

"… _the prime suspect in this case seems to be William Bell, right now."_

"No…"

"Huh? No? So, you don´t want to go to the cinema?"

But the voice of her friend pushed her back into a completely different world.

"What? Sonoko?"

"Who else? Are you even listening?"

"Sure, I… Sonoko can I call you back later? Please?" On the other side of the phone the fake blonde blinked briefly, her voice grew worried now.

"Oh- Okay, sure Ran… is, is everything all right?"

"Everything is fine, Sonoko, thanks. I'll call you later."

And before Sonoko could take a breath to reply, Ran had already hung up on her. The peeping tone of the now empty line only seemed to pound the words of the news anchor deeper inside her.

"… _the third victim is treated in the hospital right now, but luckily her situation isn't life threatening any longer, while the Amercian, Professor William Bell, is currently interrogated by the police."_

Ran's face had grown pale, the young woman could feel how she began to shiver. She dropped on the couch the second her knees grew week. The phone in her hand continued with its monotone signal, but it wasn´t enough to get her back from her thought's prison.

It was like the news presenter was speaking in another language now, while Ran could hear her, she couldn't really understand what she was talking about, or she just couldn't believe it.

Bell… a murderer?

'No!'

Stoically, she shook her head, her wet locks finally broke free from the towel that slid down on her shoulders. But Ran didn´t even notice it, her body was numb against any stimulant, only her heart seemed to grow more heavy with every beat.

She had stopped to defend herself against it long ago. While she still didn´t know why the man influenced her that much, she knew that he kept her under his spell right from their first meeting.

And now it should be him… the serial killer who got Tokyo in his hand?

'Never.'

Bell wasn´t a bad person, nor a murderer.

It was downright ridiculous to accuse him of such.

He had worked on solving the case, he had racked his brain about a solution, she'd seen it, she saw it in his eyes.

Goosebumps grew beneath the white bathrobe. Like little soldiers the tiny hairs lined up, while she thought about his eyes. The clear blue that held a dark shadow and yet was able to let hope rise inside her.

" _According to the police…"_

The voice of the reporter made her look up again, she just noticed that she had closed her eyes before she tried to focus back on the TV.

"…the Professor had been seen on the crime scene during when the attack to place. It's possible that the police got more evidence against the author, which justified his arrest. Further informations are yet to come when the victim is ready to make a statement. Until then we keep you infor-"

Ran turned the TV off without a second thought and was now staring on the black screen that reflected her own blue grey mirror image.

Nonsense.

It wasn´t him.

It couldn´t be him.

'Please…'

A single drop of water had found its way from her hair and now ran down her cheek before it disappeared in the white bathrobe. But Ran didn´t notice the small foreboding message, her former helpless and surprised face had grown serious.

She took the pone and typed in a well-known number, so that the dial tone finally grew silent. She didn´t have to wait long before someone took her call from the other line.

"Law office Kisaki, Kiskai Eri speaking, what can I do for you?"

"Mum… I need your help."

XXX

The phone call didn´t take long. After she'd hung up, for the first time the young woman felt the wet hair in her neck, that made her shiver. And yet she still wasn´t able to move. Beside her own heartbeat and the clock on the wall everything seemed to stand still around her.

But there was something else, something only Ran could hear like an invisible voice was whispering something inside her ear. It was a question her mother hadn´t asked but Ran still had heard it between her words.

 _Why?_

* * *

 _Hey,  
_

 _hehe it's really funny to put Shinichi in such a situation, I hope you enjoyed it as much as I did!_

 _Thank you so much for all those favs and followers! And of course a big thank you for all your reviews as well as a warm hug to my Beta Tobina who did an amazing job again._

 _See you next month._

 _Please leave a review below ^^_

 _Shelling~_


	15. 15 Visitors

**Visitors**

Grey.

The ceiling was grey.

Just like everything else in this hole- pardon, prison. There wasn´t much to see up there and yet, Shinichi was studying the ceiling for a while now, deep in thought.

Shortly after Megure had left him alone, someone had picked him up from the interrogation room, before they went through the usual prison routine. He had to hand over his watch, mobile, jacket and everything else he had with him that he wasn´t allowed to keep in the custody of justice. The officer's eyes had gone wide when she'd seen his name on the file and while he obediently handed her his stuff, she just stared at him. Shinichi had felt her eyes on his skin, what actually made him feel even worse. For a brief moment, he had considered to say something, but what?

 _I'm innocent. It's a mistake! Please don't imprison me._

He shared a bitter chuckle with himself.

'Definitely not.'

So, he'd kept his mouth shut and singed the list with his belongings, before the officer disappeared with it into the warehouse. Shooting a picture and taking his fingerprints had been the next station to luck. The pictures with and without glasses were quickly taken and Shinichi only got a little queasy when they started taking his fingerprints.

The high-schooler swallowed as his gaze moved to the remains of ink on his hands. The officer had put his fingers, balls and wrists on record to feed them into the worldwide system. As an employee of the New York police, Bell was already in there… but today, he entered it as a potential suspect.

The detective thoughtfully rubbed his still blue index finger against his thumb, to get rid of the annoying ink. He knew that the data of Kudo Shinichi was no longer in the system, thanks to the FBI, but still… if someone would open a box of evidence, of one of his old cases and compared his fingerprints, it was all it took to expose his lies.

That's it.

So simple.

'Shit!'

He sat up with a sigh and combed through his hair, without that he really felt the touch, before a cynical smile curled his lips. At least he'd been lucky on the last station before he had been allowed into his suit deluxe. Because the officer who should have frisked him had been as tired as himself and only wanted to get over with it quick, to lay down again, he had just searched him with his eyes after he seemed outwardly clean of any hidden weapons and such.

Because a thorough search for sure would have been his end.

'That's something at least.'

The detective settled into his pillow with a sigh and went on with his stare contest with the ceiling without that sleep overpowered him. It felt like he was fighting Morpheus for hours already, his lids repeatedly threatening to fall shut. But sleep was the last thing he could afford right now, because 'Bell' wouldn´t survive his involuntary moves on the narrow prison cot for sure.

He had to stay awake somehow.

The room was too narrow for him to pace up and down, he had tried but the eternal back and forth had only made him dizzy, so that wasn´t an option. After that, he had at least found a moment of refuge in the case, thinking about the true murderer, but since he was the prime suspect for now, his thoughts didn´t remain there for too long, so that his mind was now dealing with matters that weren´t supposed to be in Bell's head.

Ran.

Did she know about it already?

Did she believe that he was the culprit?

What was she thinking about him?

Probably that he'd lied to her, that he was just acting around them to get the information he needed.

The detective grimaced in disgust, too much truth lingered in what everybody must be thinking about him now… what _she_ was thinking about him.

The pseudo professor closed his eyes and snorted before he pushed himself back up. He couldn´t help the fact that she was attached to him again or that he cared what she was thinking about Bell. It didn´t matter if he was Conan, Shinichi or his latest fictional character… he still cared, and it still mattered to him. He couldn´t help his feeling for her.

From the way Ran looked at Bell, he figured that she somehow liked him. She'd probably just sighed when she'd seen the news, since she had already placed her trust in so many murderers before.

'That's because you always believe in the good in people until the end.'

He swallowed. His stern gaze wandered toward the thick iron door that separated him from the rest of the world. Maybe she was angry with him and hurt because William Bell had betrayed her without remorse, guilt or any hesitations. She had every right to be disappointed in him because, aside from the murder itself, the charges brought against William Bell fit with the crime records of Kudo Shinichi.

She _should_ be mad at him.

And even if she wasn´t right now, it wouldn´t take long if he stayed here any longer.

Shinichi massaged Bell's neck tiredly. If they wouldn´t dismiss him from this cell in the near future, the truth would literally jump them in the face. Because Bell's skin would not be able to hold itself on his own for too long. Even if the mask was professional enough, it wasn´t made for a continuous wearing. A bitter smile appeared beneath the thin silicone layer, at least Megure would believe him then.

Without his watch on his wrist, Shinichi had no sense of time, he couldn´t tell how long he'd been sitting here when he suddenly heard steps coming towards him. And yet, the detective only opened his sleep-heavy eyes when he heard the loud crack of his prison door, even if he didn´t know whether he should be glad or worried about his intruder. The man in uniform met his skeptic glance and cleared his throat, what made his beer-belly move up and down, before he explained his presence.

"You've got visitors, Professor."

"What?" He blinked in surprise.

Visitors?

Who should come to visit him, and why?

But the police officer didn´t answer his quizzical gaze, instead he played with the bunch of keys in his hand while he explained.

"Since you're in custody right now, we don´t have a separate room for such conversations… unfortunately. So, we have to remain in your cell if that's alright."

The detective rose an eyebrow, still skeptical. It didn´t look as if this guy really cared about his wish to share these four walls with someone or not. However, Shinichi decided to play along, for sure that was a better idea than to anger the man who was responsible for his food.

"Fine by me, if my guest is okay with that."

"I'm sure we'll find an arrangement."

The sharp voice let both men fall silent right away, but it especially went beneath the skin of the cell inhabitant. The tingling of his body was no longer owed to his tired condition alone.

Before his mind was able to form a name, his guest had stepped into his field of vision.

Kisaki Eri.

Shinichi gulped, he could immediately feel how her eyes scanned his boy, but he couldn´t avert the lawyers gaze. The detective couldn´t see much changes beside the small winkles around her eyes, which revealed that the serious features had also formed a smile from time to time.

The thought alone however wasn´t enough to get rid of his dry throat, not the slightest.

What was she doing here?

He'd never asked for a lawyer and since he wasn´t in charge yet, they couldn´t select someone for him. That aside, the possibility that she would be by his side in such a case was more than low.

For sure it wasn´t her own idea to appear on his doorstep, so that only left one plausible explanation.

'Ran.'

And just as if she had heard him, her face appeared behind the serious expression of her mother, with a slight embarrassed and uncertain smile.

"Good morning, Professor."

"M-morning."

Bell's voice suddenly sounded fragile even in his own ears, when he replied. At least that answered the question why Eri was greeting him this morning. He sighed. A look into Ran's eyes confirmed his suspicions.

He knew that look. She hadn´t looked at Bell like that, neither Conan but only Shinichi himself. Whenever she had thought that she'd figured him out, but wasn´t angry enough anymore to rip his head off right away, that was the time she'd looked at him like this.

Unsure and afraid, she looked nothing like the karate champion he knew. But what lingered behind these feelings and had always been visible in her eyes was a simple plea.

To explain himself, to tell her the reason for his behavior, to tell her the truth beneath his lie… because she still hoped that she would understand what he'd done and why, because she hoped that she would able to believe in him again.

Shinichi swallowed and lowered his gaze.

He suddenly felt how narrow this room was and how worse he had to look after a night here. Even if she still didn´t know who he was, it still didn't feel good that she had to see him like this.

A prime subject, the possible murderer in this case.

Shinichi took a deep breath and tried for a smile, while he straightened his collar and his tie as good as he could.

"Please excuse my appearance, I have to admit that the night has worn me out a little, but of course I would never complain about the hospitality of the police."

Finally, he pushed himself up and took the few steps towards Eri, offering his hand.

"William Bell, professor, part-time detective and currently main suspect in this case."

The lawyer didn´t wait long but took his hand to reply to his greeting. She had already dealt with multiple disgusting people that she didn´t shy away from a handshake with a suspected murderer.

"Kisaki Eri, I would like to represent you, Mr. Bell, if this case will lead us to court."

The lawyer handed him her card and Shinichi eyed it carefully before he let it disappear in his shirt pocket.

His gaze wandered past her, back to Ran. A slight smile still lingered on her lips, one he just knew too well. Her cheeks turned slightly rose when she became aware of his eyes on her skin.

"Alright, I'm off then, goodbye Mr. Bell."

"What-" But before Shinichi was able to express his objection, she was already gone.

'Ran…'

His eyes rested on the spot of the doorway, she had occupied until now, before Eri pulled him out of his trance.

"I guess you'll have to put up with me for now, professor."

"Mhm?"

It was now Shinichi's turn to turn red in embarrassment behind Bell's face. He took a step back with a bashful smile to let her enter the room.

Once she passed the doorframe, the officer mumbled something about being "within earshot" and "not too long" in his beard, before the door fell shut behind her with a dull bang. Shinichi immediately felt how the tension grew thick in the small room, so that a small drop of sweat ran down his spine. He noticed that Eri was now studying the small room further, even the unused bet didn't escape her eyes.

The detective swallowed and inhaled deeply.

'Stay calm, Kudo. Now is not the time to lose it.'

Shinichi managed to construct a smile on Bell's lips and rubbed his neck slightly embarrassed.

"It's rather modest Kisaki-san, but I still hope I can help."

He gestured inviting to the small bed and the lawyer took it, probably the better choice considering that the toilette was the only seat beside the bed. She rummaged in her purse until she found her voice recorder and placed it on the bed. She didn´t look up but answered him with a smug smile on her lips.

"If I got it right, Professor, it's _me_ who is supposed to help you, not the other way around."

"Huh? Well, of course, you're right."

When Eri finally looked up, she only saw his embarrassed smile, but she missed the bewildered look from before.

"Alright, Professor, I would ask you to explain what happed yesterday evening. I know that you've already told the police as much, but I would like you to remember that everything you say will stay among us. It's not my place to judge you, we're here to find the truth, nothing else."

'The truth? I hope not.'

But Bell's face didn´t leave space for his thought, he nodded and sat down beside her before he started to explain what had happed once again.

The American was hardly looking at Eri while he spoke but instead fixed an invisible spot on the ground, the perfect opportunity for the lawyer to take a closer look on her client.

The only thing she'd seen so far was a picture in the newspaper, since her daughter didn´t give her enough time to search information about him, but instead dragged her right inside here. But the hopeful image from the newspaper had made of him didn´t fit the human next to her.

Ran's mother searched the bitter face and slowly started to wonder whether the image of the media had fit ever. Because it wasn´t just the tiredness on his handsome features, but rather his concerned look and the trouble-filled eyes.

Something in them bothered her, something that normally would make working his case easer but not this time. It unprofessionally made her want to believe inthe professor.

Remorse.

Bell obviously didn´t feel comfortable in her presence and Ran had been no different this morning.

Bell's stiff muscles and the disgruntled look to the side had not escaped Eri's eyes. And yet it had been Ran who wanted him out of here, she had insisted that the man, who she only knew for a few days, was innocent.

Then what drew the picture of guilt in his eyes in such muddy colors that his soul seemed to fade behind them?

Eri could feel how she bit her lips and immediately tried to calm herself down. This annoying habit revealed what had been going on inside her the moment Ran had called for her help.

'Pokerface, Eri. Remember.'

She took a short breath and made some notes. Even though the voice recorder beside her worked just nicely, she wanted to appear busy. The lawyer stared at her own handwriting, while her thoughts swirled around the question why the word "guilt" almost was written over Bell's forehead. She knew this expression, because that was what she normally was working toward, so that the culprit would finally admit their guilt, not only to themselves but the court as well.

That's how she usually won a case.

Here, however, the situation was different.

Although Bell showed remorse, the current indictment didn't seem to be the reason, or they would not be sitting here while he still claimed to be innocent.

So, what was it?

'What?'

Even if she would manage to get him off the hook, she probably wouldn´t gain a full acquittal for him.

But that was exactly what her daughter wanted.

Of course, Ran would never admit that he meant so much to her, but honestly - a mother knew her own daughter. She already had heard it in her voice over the phone this morning.

And Bell's own reaction to Ran had also been quite telling.

Confused at first, but also pleased to see that she was all-right, even if the situation was rather embarrassing for him.

When she looked at him, looked at her daughter only one name came to her mind…

Kudo Shinichi.

The eyes of the lawyer grew narrow, her analyzing gaze wandered back to the possible murderer by her side, who looked so foreign and yet seemed to resemble him so much.

Should this case- should this murder really be connected to _him_ , to all what had happened in the past?

It sounded absurd, even in her own ears and yet there seemed to be so much similarities in both cases.

A murderer who couldn't be caught, a man with a secret who seemed to know more than everyone else, a man her daughter was worried about.

A secret like that of Kudo Shinichi, would at least explain the expression in his eyes. Because no… there was no murderer sitting beside her.

But still…

Eri sighed and looked back up into the straight face of the professor. Right now, this man was ready to let himself be called a murderer, because without a better statement, she would not be able to prove the contrary.

Without an answer, he remained a suspect.

"Are you sure you want to stick with this story, Mr. Bell?"

The brown eyes of the lawyer met his own, but the barrier between them remained. He only gave her one of his apologetic smiles and ruefully shook his head. Silence was heavy in the small cell for a moment. One could hear the officer outside who shuffled his feet bored out of his mind, like he was also waiting for Bell to finally confess, while the professor himself remained silent.

"All right - should your charge against you not resolve itself in the next few days, I'll contact you again." With these words, she started to stuff her purse without looking at him again.

Shinichi's eyes were glued to her all the time, while he bit his lower lip.

'I fear, Bell won´t have that much time.'

The moment Shinichi turned away from her to let his mind wander, she spoke again.

"Ran likes you."

"W-What?"

Shinichi looked up. He wasn´t surprised that it was Eri's voice that broke through the silence once more, but the subject threw him completely off course. The lawyer only watched his reaction, her words were accompanied with a polite smile.

"Mori Ran. My daughter, you may already have deduced as much. She. Likes. You."

Shinichi blinked in surprise. He wasn´t prepared for that, he couldn´t prevent that his façade crumbled. What did she want to tell him with that?

'Or has she already seen through your lies, Kudo?'

He swallowed, Shinichi knew he should say something, but the only thing he managed, was to sit there, staring at his defending lawyer. That was all his dull brain was capable of right now.

'Ran…'

But instead of answering to the suddenly not so smart look of her client, the queen of the court put the voice recorder into her bag. Only when she snapped the lock shut with a click, she turned her attention to him again.

"I would love to threaten you, Professor, I would be happy to advise you to keep your hands off my daughter. But I won´t do any of that. Not because I believe you to be a good person, on the contrary…"

Her eyes searched his face again, she tried to get through the blue eyes, while she continued.

"There is something you're keeping from us and secrets big or small, as good as their intention might be, always harbor danger. A threat I don´t like my daughter to get involved with."

She sighed again and took her sharp glance from him as she pushed herself up and didn´t look back to him.

"I would love to forbid you seeing her again. The reason I can´t, is Ran herself."

The voice of the lawyer wasn´t more than a whisper, the accusation in her tone was gone. Her next words were like a secret she was only allowed to whisper, so that the prison walls wouldn´t absorb it.

"Ran likes you."

Shinichi just looked at her and felt how his racing heart missed a bit, while he couldn´t stop staring.

Eri however only knocked at the prison door, the signal for the officer to finally dismiss her from the cell. The keys jingled a second later and the door opened to reveal the bored face of the officer, which turned into surprise when the lawyer didn´t step out right away but remained standing in the doorframe.

"Italian."

"Huh?"

The prisoner blinked as if brought back from a different world. She looked at him in wonder, her voice grew gentle, but her glance penetrated his very soul while she implied a subtle warning in her words.

"Ran. She likes Italian food."

XXX

Her steps echoed on the sterile floor, and the fact that the officer who accompanied her outside played loudly with his keys, formed goosebumps on Ran's skin.

Even though the police headquarters didn´t have many cells since the prisoners were just put here temporary, the doors placed accurately left and right beside her in the narrow hallway made her hurry her steps. Behind these doors were criminals waiting to be transferred to the nearest prison.

Ran gulped and rubbed her cold arms and trying to get rid of the bitter taste in her mouth. All the while the annoying voice inside her still questioned herself why it was so hard to see Bell behind these bars. Why his slightly ruffled appearance as prisoner of the Tokyo police force, his sunken eyes and his tired smile tightened a noose around her heart.

She didn´t want to see him this way.

He didn´t belong here.

At least that's what she wanted to believe.

'But why?'

Ran bit her lips and shook her head, impatient with herself, so that the officer turned to glance at her in surprise, but she just ignored his questioning gaze and instead followed him while she let her thoughts wander.

Maybe she should talk to Heiji about it, since it had been him who had arrested Bell and it also seemed like the officer from Osaka knew the visitor from oversees better than he would let on. His reaction when Kazuha had asked Bell for an autograph still lingered in her mind.

With every step Ran made towards freedom, and with every thought she didn´t allow herself to ponder over, the lump in her throat seemed to grow. The gaze of her mother had spoken volumes this morning. Ran was well aware, she also had an interrogation ahead of her. And yet the young teacher already knew that she would hardly be able to answer any of her mother's questions. Because she just couldn´t ignore the simple but bitter truth.

She didn´t even know this man at all.

'William Bell… who are you?'

"Excuse me, Mori-san?"

"Huh? What?"

Her startled face put a short but cheeky smile on the officer's lips that faded immediately when he saw the darkness lingering in her bright blue eyes.

"We're here."

Ran blinked, before she finally looked around and nodded thankfully to the officer, who opened the door for her.

The sun on her skin and the fresh wind in her hair seemed like a blessing.

Freedom.

If her mother was successful, he could enjoy this feeling again soon as well.

She just _had_ to succeed, because only than Ran would be able to get to know him better to get behind the reason for her confusing feelings. And if the queen of the court would fail, she had to search for something else, anything that would exonerate him, to get him free.

The warm sun coaxed a little sigh from her lungs. Only now she realized that she almost forgot to breathe while she was thinking of him. She inhaled deeply and let her gaze wander to the parking lot. Between the colorful metal of the cars that shimmered in the sun, her eyes suddenly found two figures engrossed in some kind of discussion in the shade of the trees. The shadow play of the leaves blurred their contours, but the way they moved beneath the colorful foliage was enough for her to recognize them.

'What?'

Ran's eyes grew big, it felt like two cold hands were closing around her throat, but somehow, she managed to form a friendly smile on her lips when she stepped towards them with a mixture of joy, fear and curiosity.

She wasn´t aware that the eyes of both of them also grew big when they recognized her, nor how their faces lost a little color when Ran greeted them from afar.

XXX

He yawed and tiredly rubbed the sleep from his eyes before he entered the building with a grumbled "Mornin'".

Morning his ass - it was already past four and yet the young detective had only now managed to crawl out of his bed. Fine, he'd turned in late this morning, but he should be used to it by now and normally his fatigue passed with a few hours of sleep and a strong cup of coffee.

Well, that was just the point. He had missed his first step of that regime, since he didn´t get any sleep tonight. No, instead he'd been awake, turning from one side to the other until Kazuha had finally banned him to the couch, so that at least one of them would be able to get some rest. After all, her beloved husband had preferred to remain silent, instead of telling her what kept his thoughts going in circles.

He cursed and went to the next water dispenser to fill one of this smelly cheap plastic cups.

He should have slept like a baby!

He should have slept like a baby with a satisfied grin on his lips, knowing that Tokyo at least would be a bit safer tonight.

But nooo, he had to lay awake so that his head was killing him this morning. He grumbled and popped two painkillers out of their blister-packaging to flush them down with the stale water.

But the most annoying was that Heiji knew why he hadn´t found any sleep and why there was a throbbing plain lingering between his ears.

A mistake.

Something was wrong with this case. Something was amiss, he had overlooked something.

Because honestly, Bell was exactly where he wanted him to be, the rest was just a matter of time. But even the triumph in his hand, his possible lead to the organization, couldn´t help the queasy feeling in his stomach.

One piece of the puzzle just wouldn't fit.

'Maybe ya just seein' ghosts, Hattori.'

Thoughtful, he massaged his temple and flipped the cup into the nearest trashcan before he continued his way towards the conference room. He passed two open doors and could hear a few officers talking across the hall. He already wanted to pass them as inconspicuous as possible, before three simple letters nailed him two the ground.

"FBI?"

"What are they doing here?"

"I don´t know, but I wouldn't have pushed the blonde beauty out of my bed."

"WHAT!?"

Heiji's shout earned him a startled glance from the officers, while the Oskan grew pale.

"Uh well… you have to admit Hattori-keiji, those American women-"

But Heiji just ignored the stuttered exclamation and instead took a step towards the man.

"Who of tha FBI was here? What did they want and from whom?"

The three officers looked at each other in confusion, unsure why this information seemed so important to him, it took a moment before one of them finally dared to speak.

The skinny officer could use a good meal and some work-out, but his stature straightened up to answer - unlike is colleagues, who preferred to stay back. Especially because Hattori looked like they should handle him with care today.

"We don´t know that much. It was a blonde with glasses and a Japanese guy with short black hair and a dark wool cap. They didn´t talk much but only asked how to find Megure-"

But Heiji had heard enough already. With a fast step he pressed himself through them and hurried to the conference room, which door he ripped open without a question or knock.

Megure was alone at the table, he had his board back turned to him and tried not to notice that Heiji had just stormed into the room. But the silent evidence of the two guests were still visible. A coffee cup with a striking pink lipstick mark on its edge, one that Sato would never dare to wear and the smell of cigarettes that even the open window hadn't been able to clear yet.

Jodie Starling and Akai Shuichi.

The old officer could hear how Heiji took a deep breath behind him, but still forced his attention to the files before him. He was reading the report again, heard that a chair was pushed back opposite him when he signed the thin sheet of paper before he sorted it back into the file.

The small conference room remained silent when Heiji shot the brown envelope a look, while Megure's gaze lingered on the file's name.

Bell.

Like a serial killer hadn´t been enough to keep him awake already. But no - he had to deal with the tangled dark backgrounds of his investigators as well. But it wasn´t only his current prisoner that made his stomach with Midori's delicious meal in it turn, no, Heiji took his own part in this.

The elder officer massaged his temples with a tired sigh.

'That's not going to be fun…'

"Hattori-kun…"

"What did they want?" The voice of the detective was demanding, his words held no emotion.

Megure looked up, only now he saw that the Osakan was staring at the file before him. Without lifting his gaze from the brown paper, his lips formed a whispered sentence.

"They asked ya ta let him go, right?"

Megure swallowed, looked at Hattori for a while and tried to find eye contact with the officer, before he answered with a tired nod.

"Yes."

Megure's hands searched for something to do, but the table only held the boring brown file, so that he pulled his hat from his head. Not only his thinning hairline became visible but the little scar on his temple as well, which he now scratched in thought.

"They were here in the position of the American Embassy, since we don´t have enough evidence against him. Don´t look at me like that, Heiji-kun… you know that I'm right, as long as our witness is not able to talk, we don´t have much against him."

He swallowed and noticed how the lump in his throat only seemed to grow instead of leaving its cozy place.

"On the other hand, the FBI is highly interested that Bell continues to support us, since there could be international cases that are connected to ours."

The officer didn´t even try to hide his sigh, before he again tried to find eye contact with Heiji. The detective seemed to be frozen on his seat, but Megure was sure that he could hear him just fine.

"I don´t know what's their true reason behind it, Heiji-kun. But you and I know those agents well enough by now that we can be sure that they wouldn´t endanger our investigations if-"

"Tss."

Suddenly life seemed to return into the unmoving frame of the Osakan, even if he still didn´t look up, Megure could see the anger in his green eyes.

"Ya know as well as I do that tha FBI is not interested in what or who they might put in danger. They do their thin', no matter tha cost."

His eyes held a darkness Megure hadn´t seen in them for a long time and would have never thought that Heiji would fret about it for so long. His voice grew soft while he spoke.

"Heiji…"

But the other didn´t even bother to let him finish or to hide the anger and threat in his voice.

"Ya'll let him go?"

Megure looked up into Heiji's bitter face before his mustache let slip a defeated sigh.

"We've already risked too much by arresting him, we can´t afford to disagree with the FBI, it would only cause trouble on international level."

"Yar goin' ta set a killer on tha loose!"

Heiji jumped up from his seat, the chair fell to the ground with a clatter and his voice was much too loud. But the older officer just looked at him, he had already started to wonder how Heiji had been able to stay so calm. What was happening right now was much more what he had expected. And if it weren't for the case and the FBI, he would reproach him for speaking in such a manner to a superior. But instead, Megure pushed himself from his chair to be on eye level with him again and started to speak, his voice composed but sharp.

"What would the FBI have to gain by that, Hattori-kun? They have to believe in his innocence or why else would they want that we let him go if they knew that he's our culprit?"

Megure continued speaking but Heiji wasn´t listening any longer.

'What?'

The detective's green eyes grew big, while he seemed to stare through the older officer, before an unmistakable smirk appeared on his lips.

'I see… so that's it.'

* * *

 _Upsi- seems like Heiji finally figured it out- or didn´t he?_

 _Hey everyone!_

 _Well we all have been waiting for the FBI to appear, right?_

 _First of all thanks to **Tobina** for her amazing work as my Beta again!_

 _And of course thanks for all your reviews and- WOW! Over 80 followers and more than 50 Favs! Really guys I would love to hear your thoughts if you could spare some time to review :3_

 _Ah and by the way, I am still searching for a second Beta, mostly for OS and such- PM me if you're interested, but keep in mind that I am not a native- so there might be lot of work waiting for you._

 _See you next month!_

 _Shelling ~_


	16. 16 Fake

**Fake**

Rain was pouring down.

The dark clouds completely covered the sky above Tokyo, so that no light found its way through the wet fog. Even the short distance from the taxi to the small house, where the pathologist had offered him to stay, was enough to drench him to the bone.

Trembling from the cold and fatigue, he fiddled the key from his pocket, pushed it in the lock and finally opened the door. It was a blessing to get out of the rain, for his body as well as his mind. At least he could drop the annoying mask of Bell now - he had played the charade for too long already.

Peace.

Peace, even if just for a brief moment, was everything Shinichi wanted right now. Not watching his every step, not thinking about that everything he said could reveal him… not thinking at all… just for a couple of minute.

Not caring about the pool of water he left behind, he went down the narrow hall into the living room with a long sigh. It seemed like Matzuda hadn´t lied to him when he said that there was only one key for this building. Everything was as he had left it, the shutters were down and the files of the case were still pinched in his small notebook like last night. Shinichi's gaze flickered to the small kitchen, up at the clock, which obviously ticked further without him.

09:30 PM.

He would go to Matzuda tomorrow, to tell him that he was back and what happed, but for tonight he felt he had told his story often enough.

The dim light from the hallway was the only source of light right now, so that Shinichi settled down on the brown leather couch and closed his eyes for a moment.

But the calm of the house could not get through to him, even his fatigue and exhaustion didn´t help to bring his mind to rest.

When the officer had come to him this evening to tell him that he was free to go, he hadn´t questioned this decision. He simply hadn´t cared about it. He was tired and done for it, so he simply had been happy to finally get out of there. He would get to know why they let him go sooner or later anyway. So he had endured the official procedure again, even if it seemed to take longer this time. It had felt like ages until the lady came back with his stuff and even the paperwork, which had been sorted for him to sight seemed to had conspired against him. Eventhough he knew that it was probably just because he only wanted to get out.

But now this decision simply annoyed him.

How could he be so stupid not to ask why he was suddenly free to go.

Sure Eri was good, but not _that_ good.

He sighed, and pushed his wet shoes from his feet, leaving them dripping with water beneath the coffee table.

At least the whole thing was finally over now.

Because, to be honest, today had really been a close call.

When Ran and Eri visited him, he had feared for a brief moment that his cover was blown and his game finally was over.

A painful smile crept beneath Bell's skin, the silicon stretched itself around his lips and Shinichi was thrilled that he could get rid of his unwanted third self every second now. And yet, he nearly had to laugh about the fact that Eri allowed him to meet Ran.

'Italian… tss.'

The detective rubbed his temples with a painful grin.

'As if I didn't know that already...'

But the smile on his face didn't´t reach his eyes, it was a fake smile on a fake face. Fear, uncertainty and sheer indignation mixed itself with the exhaustion in his eyes.

All of this had to be a stupid joke… Eri couldn´t be serious. For one, it would be new to him that Ran's mother wassuddenly so permissive about her daughter's love interest, especially if said man was a possible murderer and for sure not the right company for someone like Ran.

And besides… there still was Eisuke.

'So what was this all about? Eri hadn´t been so easy on Kudo Shinichi back then... just the opposite.' The detective scrunched up his face, but supported his chin in his hand thoughtfully.

Was there really something between Ran and him- well Bell?

Shinichi gulped and tried to remember the time before Bell, before Edogawa Conan, a time when he didn´t know that Ran felt more for him than just friendship.

A lump immediately formed in his throat.

It hadn´t been easy back then, not knowing where he stood in the eyes of the other while on the other hand he wasn´t brave enough to tell her about his own feelings.

All that just to protect their friendship.

While he didn´t care much about his classmates or social contact at all, she always used to be nice and friendly to everyone.

Sometimes too friendly for his taste.

But instead of defending her or declaring his jealousy, he only waved the love letters of his female fans in front of her nose like an immature child.

And know he finally knew that she must have been in the same dilemma, because she only confessed her feelings to Conan, who she thought to be innocent enough to keep her secret.

Shinichi swallowed, the thought alone was still enough to make him blush.

Fact is… he hadn´t known about it till then.

The great detective of the east, hadn´t been able to discover that his childhood friend was in love with him.

Should he really be so clueless again?

Was his fear to get recognized by his old friends too big for him to see that Ran really was falling in love with William Bell?

A shudder crept over his back, somehow he didn't like the thought… of course that meant that Ran was falling in love with him again, but at the same time it wasn´t Kudo Shinichi but William Bell she was in love with.

Wasn´t she?

"Damn it!"

He gritted his teeth in frustration and drove a hand through his hair.

'Don´t tell me I'm getting jealous of Bell? Jealous of myself?' Shinichi rubbed his temples in annoyance while the corner of his mouth twitched at the thought.

'I'm driving myself nuts!'

But if… if Ran really was in love with-

'No. No, no, no, no, no! It doesn´t matter who she' in love with. Neither Kudo Shinichi, nor William Bell are allowed to get close to her. I- we… can´t. Not after what happed, not with everything still being at stake.' Shinichi swallowed, his knuckles turned white beneath the pressure of his fists.

'Not going to happen.'

It made no sense to worry about it anyway. He didn´t even know whether the hunches of the lawyer were true or not, and Shinichi knew by now that he wouldn't figure it out on his own. Love wasn´t a logical thing, it left no clues he could follow and no science could help him to answer this riddle. A thin smile stretched across his lips, Hattori had been right after all- when it came to his own life and the people around him, he really had no clue.

Once again the fake professor closed his eyes and sunk deeper into the leather of the couch. One could hear the rain, how it came pouring down, drumming on the house, but Shinichi couldn´t care less about it right now- in here the rain couldn´t do any harm. For only a second he felt isolated from the world and everything around him and he finally was able to find some piece in the silence of the house, the roaring rain outside and the fatigue of his own mind.

Only a small shiver, probably due to his still wet clothes, that ran down his spine opened Shinichi's eyes again so that he left the place between dream and reality, which's emptiness had granted the freedom he'd needed, even if just for a brief moment.

'It's no use..'

With a long yawn, he straightened himself on the sofa.

'It's time to get out of this wet clothes if I don´t want to be sick tomorrowor my hunt for "Holmes" will be over.'

Yeah that's right.

He would go back to the police headquarters tomorrow, whether they wanted him there or not.

'Besides… he saw my face.'

Holmes, how he liked to call himself, knew what was hidden behind Bell's pale skin and the smile on his slips had shown him one thing.

He wouldn´t let this opportunity pass.

Shinichi brushed his hand over Bell's faux chin, the water still lingered on the latex, a special paint on the fake skin prevented the rain to get through it, so that it rolled off his face like it would have of an unloved doll.

It was time to finally get rid of the thing.

But just when the detective wanted to shed his wet clothes, the doorbell rang through the halls. This time however, Shinichi wasn´t surprised, he knew the friendly tone of his front door by now, nonetheless, he wasn´t expecting visitors.

Therefore, he carefully took a skeptical step towards the clock, which conformed that it was indeed quite late for a visit, before he made his way to the door. Shinichi sighed, took a deep breath when his hand brushed the door handle and he really hoped that the press didn´t know that he was on the loose again. The last thing he needed right now were pictures and a jabbering reporter, bombarding him with questions.

It was even harder than usual to put Bell's smile onto his features, finally pushing the door open to greet his guest.

But when he saw who was standing on his doorstep, nothing remained of the polite smile, instead he watched with big eyes how he- according to the large puddles he left behind- drenched to the bone, stepped past him without even looking at the American. Minutes seemed to pass, while no one said a word. Finally it was Bell, who found his role again to break the silence.

"I don´t suppose that you're here to congratulate me for my regained freedom. But you're not here to arrest me either. So how can I be of assistance, Hattori-keiji?" Shinichi's voice couldn´t keep up with his friendly smile, one could clearly hear the suspicion and a hint of uncertainty in his tone.

Now it was Heiji who grinned at the professor, he took a step back with a appreciating glance and leaned against the backrest of the sofa while he crossed his arms in front his chest. He didn´t look towards Bell during his speech, what only caused Shinichi to sweat even more.

Something was about to go horribly wrong.

"Actually, ya'r right, if ya want ta put it that way Professor, I am here ta congratulate ya." A silent laugh escaped the throat of the Osakan, he looked up with a triumphant smile.

"Ya managed ta fool me for quite some time."

Shinichi swallowed, but remained silent. He didn´t know if his old friend was about to lure him into a trap, so he simply offered him a serious glance. However, Heiji's next sentenceeven caused the experienced actor to flinch.

"Ya'r a fake, aren`t ya?"

Hattori's voice cut through the silence, didn´t allow any dissent and even the slightly condescending smile was no longer on his lips. Shinichi felt how every muscle in his body tensed and yet he dared to attempt to look at Heiji in confusion.

"Huh?"

Not a chance.

Heiji didn´t even twitch, just like he had not heard Bell, his hands disappeared in his pockets, he only turned to look at his supposed colleague when he decided to speak again.

"What I'm trying ta say is that there is no "William Bell", ya'r not real."

" _Hey… Ya'_ _r_ _Kudo, aren't ya?"_

The words seemed to burn Shinichi's skin, when he suddenly remembered his friend's words from ten years ago.

'Please don´t…'

"I-I fear I don´t know what you're talking about, Hattori-keiji. Accusing me of murder is one thing, but to doubt my very existence? Come on." He chocked a brief smile, the only thing he could try for was to stop Hattori from going further down this road. Even if Shinichi had to admit to himself that his try would probably be for nothing.

'Quit it, Hattori!'

Shinichi swallowed when a lump formed itself in his throat.

Heiji's features where serious, but his eyes held a shine, that Kazuha might love, but only let bile crawling up Shinichi's throat.

"Don´t even try, "Professor". I have ta confess that I thought I just became paranoid in tha beginning, ya played yar game well, that much I have ta admit and yet…" The slight cynical smile disappeared fromHeiji's lips.

"Ya yarself delivered me tha final evidence tasee through ya. Ironic isn´t it? If ya would have restrained yarself and let us do our work,ya might as well have been able ta fool me."

'What?'

Shinichi started to shiver, he felt how the fog seemed to compress his mind, his hands grew cold when his circulation slowly broke down. Only now he noticed how deftly Hattori had directed his movements, so that the Osakan was now blocking the door. Escape was impossible.

'Shit! Damn it, Hattori… just let it go.'

His reaction didn´t escape Heiji. Bell's body language had changed, the man in front of him had become insecure, his quick glance to the door told him as much.

But he would not escape him, not today.

"When ya only revealed yar thoughts about tha case bit by bit, I thought that ya were simply arrogant, showin' off. I told ya… ya played good. Too good actually. What ya said and tha manner in whichya did, even yar movements where calculated, ta mime tha perfect investigator. Tha help from America, who tried ta stay in tha background, only showin' up when needed. Ya put too much thought in ya actions and how we saw them. Tha only reason for yar behavior could be that yar actin' upon us, tryin' ta be someone ya'r not, while ya tried ta fill yar role perfectly, so that no one would see through yar game. But perfection is a rather dangerous friend, Professor… has no one told ya that before?" Heiji took a step towards him, he didn´t care about the wet sound his shoe made when he stepped into the puddle that was the result of his wet clothes.

"Most crimes can be solved, because tha killer had planned them for quite some time, while a murder in affect is far more difficult ta investigate. But I guess I don´t have ta tell ya that."

Shinichi swallowed, the silent hint to Holmes wasn´t overheard, if the situation would have been different, he might as well tease Heiji about the fact that he at least showed some taste in literature. But now he could do nothing else than to listen to Heiji's deductions while he pushed him further into a corner.

"So ya declared yarself a suspect. Everythin' else was rather easy. It was obvious that ya tried ta distract us from tha real culprit, ya managed ta turn tha facts how ya saw fit, which was easy since Megure-keishi didn´t want ta warm up tha old stories again. So I had no evidence against ya…"

Heiji looked up, the grin on his lips grew and Shinichi knew it was over, while he slowly grew sick.

Hattori got him.

"Till yesterday.

I don´t know how it happed, maybe our presence disturbed yar doin', anyway-" Heiji's smile vanished, while he presented a small plastic bag from his pocket, holding it in front of his nose for Bell to see.

"It seems like ya've lost something… " _Professor_ "."

Shinichi immediately recognized it.

For a short moment his eyes were stuck on the small piece of Bell's skin that Heiji had carried with him. Shinichi wasn´t able to think anything, before hundreds of explanations and arguments popped up in his head, the little piece of silicon could come from everywhere after all and yet he wasn't able to voice any of that.

The pressure inside him made it hard to breathe. Shinichi would have loved to take a deep breath and explain everything to Hattori and tell him that he was sorry that he had tried to fool him.

But he couldn´t.

Not this time.

Shinichi swallowed, chewing his lips while his voice was barely more than a whisper, he couldn´t look at his friend while he spoke.

"Leave it, Hattori… you don´t know what you're doing. You don´t know what is at stake."

The request was pointless, Shinichi knew that already, Hattori wouldn´t hold back any more… but right now he still had the choice to save his god damn ass and leave the organization and everything else behind.

'If you would just shut up already.'

He didn´t expect that Hattori would let him off easily, he would finish his conclusion and expecting a reply from him, however Shinichi certainly hadn´t expected _this_.

"WHAT?!"

The officer's voice nearly sounded hoarse, like he had swallowed up the little word. But the sudden weakness of the Osakan vanished as fast as it showed up. Shinichi had no time to react when Hattori grabbed him by the collar and pinned him with his back against the nearest wall in rage.

"WHAT? Yathink that I don´t know what's goin' on here? I know very well what yar doin' here and this time,yawont get rid of me so easily."

Shinichi tried to free himself from the grip of his friend, but even now as a high schooler, he was a decade behind him and didn't stand a chance against him. His fingers clutched around Hattori's fistsin an attempt to free himself but Heiji couldn´t care less about it, he continued speaking, still boiling with anger.

"This time I won´t hold back and let the FBI handle it."

That finally caused a reaction in Shinichi.

"W-What?"

"That's right the FBI, it seems like ya're on their radar for a while and now they want ya ta lead them ta yar godforsaken hideout. Or why do ya think Megure let ya out again? But I won´t wait for them this time, I want ya ta pay for what ya swine did."

Heiji's last sentence wasn´t a scream any longer but only a dangerous whisper, while his eyes drifted from his prisoner and fell to the floor, if only for a second.

Shinichi couldn´t help but stare at his friend. For a moment, one could literally hear how everything started to click into place in his head.

'H-Hattori, you thought- you're thinking that I…'

"Hattori wait-!"

"No."

The Osakan only hardened his grip, nearly lifting Shinichi from the ground.

"No, I've waited long enough ta get my hand on one of ya and it took me far too long until I finally got a proof, until last night. Tha forensics might have overlooked it but I know tha tricks ya're workin' with. I don´t know how it happened or how ya ripped it, maybe she tried ta get rid of ya and scratched it off in tha attempt ta free herself. Ya can try ta deny that it's yar's, tha rain probably washed everythin' away already, but that doesn´t matter now. We both know why ya ran away, Professor, don´t we? We both know that ya're nothin' more than a fake."

A diabolic smile appeared on Heiji's lips.

"Ya've been scared that we could see ya, tha evidence that ya're lyin'ta us." Shinichi felt how Hattori's eyes were tracking his skin, he was close, far too close to the truth.

"Hattori! Don't-"

"Do ya still want ta claim that ya don´t know what I'm talkin' about?" Shinichi pressed his lips together, unable to say anything right now.

"So ya still want a proof, right?"

Shinichi closed his eyes, swallowed and noticed how Hattori's grip complicated even this action, once more he heard Bell's plea, calling his friend by his first name.

"Heiji-"

But Hattori just ignored the far too personal way Bell addressed him but never let his opponent out of sight.

"An infallible proof for what ya have done. A proof of who ya really are?!" Heiji's free hand slowly wandered to Bell's collar, the officer's green eyes held an almost feverish shine from excitement and anger.

"Here is ya proof!"

Everything was over with a jolt.

Ah short stabbing pain, when the latex adhesive was moved from his skin, a pull on the clips, which fixed Bell's wig to his hair and it was over. His glasses falling to the floor with a chink was the last thing both detectives heard for a while.

After the small hallway had been filled with Heiji's bellowing voice, silence now was heavy between these very walls.

Shinichi had closed his eyes when his 'face' was being pulled away, he pressed his eyelids tightly shut, somehow he still hoped that if he would open his eyes again, this whole damn thing he had to call his live, would be nothing more than a bad dream.

But the reality held no mercy for him.

Carefully, he looked at his friend, he felt how his throat constricted when he saw him.

'Hattori…'

Naked horror was written over Heiji's face. His eyes were wide and there wasn´t much left from his dark complexion. Shinichi grit his teeth, trying to ignore the rising bad conscience and the pain inside him.

That was not what he wanted.

Although Heiji still pressed him to the wall, the superior, almost mischievous smile were history by now. It had distorted into an unbelieving open mouth, while his eyes seemed to look through Shinichi like he wasn´t really there.

Slowly, like someone had put him on slow motion,Heiji let him go, his hands trembled when he removed his cramped fists from Shinichi's collar. Shinichi opened his mouth to say something, but his lips closed again, without that a word had escaped them, when he caught Heiji's look. He clenched his teeth, dodging his friend's eyes casting his own to the floor.

Only now, the empty eyes of the Osakan began to fill with life again, he could hear his blood rushing in his ears, so that the roaring noise accompanied his thoughts.

Without that Shinichi noticed it, Heiji scanned him from top to bottom with his eyes. The now narrow face of the high-schooler didn´t seem to fit to Bell's remaining appearance, he had probably padded himself up a bit to perfect the illusion. Shinichi still seemed to be more interested in the floor than the world around him. But he didn´t need to look at Heiji for him to know who was Stan before him.

Kudo Shinichi.

A shudder went down his spine.

'No… that's not true, not Kudo, but Conan.'

Edogawa Conan.

"Hattori, I-"

The detective winced, but it wasn´t his name which made him tense but the voice.

Bell's voice.

Bell's voice that came out of Kudo's mouth.

Heiji watched him without giving his thoughts away while Kudo suddenly fiddled at something behind his canine with his index finger, before he pushed the little something inside his pocket. He could see how Shinichi's shoulders lifted themselves tiredly when he took a long breath, before he was able to face him again.

"Heiji…"

This time he didn't flinch away.

He recognized the voice, unmistakable Kudo and yet a cold shiver ran down his backbecause honestly, he had believed that he would never hear this voice… ever again.

'Never.'

"Hattori… I know-" He stopped, tiredly rubbing his forehead with his thumb and his index finger while his gaze restlessly wandered from Heiji to the ground and back.

"I know that you were expecting someone else, I'm sorry to disappoint you, but it seems you suspected the wrong person." But the apologetic smile on Shinichi's lips quickly vanished as he looked at his friend again because Heiji's face was still darkened with an emptiness, which showed pure terror.

'Hattori…'

Shinichi never thought that it would hit Hattori so hard, of course his friend had hoped for a lead to the black organization, but the irony that he believed him to be one of them didn´t seemed to reach him.

'I can´t even hold it against you, Hattori, you never expected it to be me, so your deductions might have been a little farfetched- but on the other hand I doubt I would have acted differently when it's about them.' Shinichi swallowed, again looking into the still pale face of his friend with a quiet sigh.

"Listen Hattori, I'm sorry, honestly, I know I shouldn´t have left like that… but I had no other choice after what happened back then, I'm sorry if you were worried but-"

But he didn´t came any further.

"YA'R SORRY?!"

Shinichi wanted to say something else but the next moment Heiji packed him by the collar again. But this time Heiji's rage wasn´t directed towards any fictional character but him alone.

"How dare ya ta show up here, foolin' us with this act and now ya dare ta tell me that ya'r sorry! Well Kudo, I'm not buyin' it- not after everythin' that happened."

"Shit!" Heiji cursed silently and let go of him, tousling his hair in confusion without looking back at his friend. His hands felt cold like ice, shivered, when he finally pulled them away from his hair before he clenched them into useless fists again and again. That couldn´t be true… it has to be a stupid joke, a dream, yes that must be it- he was dreaming. But no… this was real, _he_ was real.

'But how?'

Without voicing it out loud, his pale lips formed this question. His head, his whole body felt like someone hat placed a beehive inside him. He couldn´t think straight, the grip on his mind slipped so that his thoughts shuffled back and forth, dragged around by his emotions without that he could tell what he felt.

He raised his eyes and carefully dared to look at him again.

It was true.

He stood right there, Kudo Shinichi, a little pale but otherwise still the same- of course, but that didn´t matter right now. Because actually it didn´t matter if it was Conan or Shinichi, it should be impossible anyway. It couldn´t be.

'Impossible.'

Shinichi noticed Heiji's eyes on his skin and shifted from one feet to another awkwardly, looking still slightly confused towards his former best friend. He could understand that Hattori was angry, he really could, but this reaction seemed to much, even for the hot headed detective. His behavior didn´t seemto fit, he was quite too silent for his normally rather quick tongue. Was he really so mad at him that he was at loss for words?

The fake American sighed and made a step towards Hattori, while he could swear that he flinched away from him. Shinichi started to explain in annoyance, rubbing his neck apologetically, a gesture he had only seen on Kudo.

"I know I left you- everyone, without an explanation. Or thanking you, Hattori, becausewithout you… I don´t even want to know what would have happened. But well- it's not like I did it all for fun, it was part of the deal, part of the witness protection program, and they don´t tolerate it if-" But that finally woke the detective from his paralysis.

"Witness- WHAT?!"

Shinichi blinked in surprised, but then looked at his friend in annoyance.

"Witness protection program. What's going on with you, Hattori, did you hit your head these past years, or what?"

Now it was the officer who could only stare at him.

'Could it be… that ya don´t even now it, Kudo?'

Shinichi raised his eyebrow, was he seeing things or did Hattori just grow even more pale? And why the heck was he staring at him like that again, he had hoped that they were past that by now.

"Hattori, what-?"

But Heiji just looked at him surprised, before his expression suddenly darkened. Without another word, he took Shinichi's wrist and started to pull him towards the door.

"Hattori! What the heck-?"

"Come on, Kudo."

"But-"

"Just do it."

But Shinichi stopped and remained stubbornly were he stood, earning a furious look from his friend.

"Hattori, I can´t…"

Shinichi chewed his lips, looking towards the door.

"Not like this."

Heiji's surprised glance followed a hollow sigh. He let go of his former prisoner but before Shinichi could look up to ask what this was all about, Heiji had pushed his old hat down his face, which he just had rummaged from his back.

"Now ya can."

XXX

The ride in Heiji's car was silent, although there was so much to talk and clarify between the two, none of them said a word. Only when Heiji parked and turned of the engine before he wordlessly got out of the car, he recognized where they were. Shinichi hesitated for a second before he left the car as well and closed the door behind him but stayed glued to the spot.

"Hattori?"

But his friend only shook his head, turning the flashlight in his hand on, then he went ahead making it clear for Shinichi that he expected him to follow. With a sigh he followed Heiji's silent plea, even the heaven had no mercy with himbut continued to cry heavy tears that soaked them to the bone.

Unlike in Amerika, there was no steel gate in this place to keep nightly visitors away, yet the two shady figures with the flashlight sure made a dubious impression in this place. The gravel crunched underneath their feet, the rain was beating down on them, so that the murky glow of the flashlight wavered, while they slipped past nameless graves in the dark. Only a few candles, whose lights where hard to see in the night, seamed to be floating like little ghosts on the dark cemetery around them. Shinichi repeatedly tried to catch his friends eye, but Heiji didn´t turn around to look at him, actually he didn´t look around at all, it was like his feet knew the way around, automatically leading him to his destination. Shinichi shivered, he could no longer feel the cold, it was the place and the bad foreshadowing where Hattori might lead himthat caused these goosebumps.

'That's enough, Hattori… I've been there already.'

With a sigh, he quickened his steps, until he was beside Heiji, who not bothered to care about the fact that his steps were still to fast for Shinichi.

"Say Hattori, is that really necessary? I mean- do you think it's a good idea, wandering over the cemetery with they guy who was the prime suspect in the latest series of murders a few hours ago?" Heiji only grumbled as an answer, stumping ahead with a wet sound that revealed that the water long sought its way into his shoes. Shinichi already thought that he wouldn´t get a reply before Hattori suddenly spoke.

"Yes it is. And beside- ya'r not lookin' like him if ya already forgot." From the corner of his eye the Osakan could see the detective blink in irritation, it was obvious that he really forgot that there was missing a piece of silicone between him and the rest of the world, but his young face fast regained its tension.

"Alright, but still Hattori. What if someone sees us and calls the police because he thinks that we crawled out from our graves?"

Heiji winced and immediately stopped, simply staring at his friend. But the shock of the police officer didn´t last long, without looking at his now confused friend again, he continued walking.

Shinichi couldn't know that a cold hand had choked him at Kudo's remark and he wouldn´t have been able to say something because his throat felt like he was hanging on the gallows. Not to mention that his brain wasn´t able to from a reasonable sentence right now.

So, Shinichi followed him, silent again while his eyes traced the glow of the flashlight. Heiji slowed down after a while, scanning now every third or second grave stone with the light. The pictures, which appeared ghostly in the murky light, disappeared as quick as they showed up, but the few seconds were enough to cause a shiver running down Shinichi's back.

Toys, something, that looked like a race car, a few dolls or an abandoned stuffed animal, which push was soaked in cold water, while its little beady eyes reflected the light dully.

'Children…'

He stared towards the spot where the teddy sat, now again in darkness, since Hattori had already carried on and didn´t see the empty gaze of his friend. Shinichi's thoughts only remained with his wet plushy friend for a second, before he tried to remember.

Why didn´t he notice those graves the first time around?

Sure, he had been beside himself back then and Agasa had been too much, but come on! He was a detective after all and despite his miserable state, he still possessed enough ego to know that he would have noticed them.

But then…

'Where are you taking me then, Hattori?'

Shinichi searched for his friend in confusion and found him twenty meters ahead of him. The dripping wet figure, who stood there let goosebumps appear on his skin. The murky light seemed to come from Heiji's hand itself, he seemed ghostly in the dim glow, while his skin held a sick translucent touch. Shinichi swallowed, he knew that he probably didn´t make a better impression and he really hoped that no one would see them here.

Heiji however didn´t really care about it, not at all. Should people think what they wanted, it didn´t matter. He guided the glow of the flashlight, which seemed suddenly heavyer in his hand away from the gravestone he studied till now, over the path until he reached Shinichi, who slowly made his way towards him.

His steps were stiff and like himself, he had buried his hands deep in his pockets, nothing was left of the confident appearance of William Bell, but to be honest, Heiji couldn´t see Conan or Kudo either.

'Looks like there isn´t much left of ya, Kudo…'

Because the uncertainty that aired from the teenager, who came towards him with his head low and much too pale face didn´t fit to any of the two, or three to be correct.

'That really doesn´t suit ya man, not at all.'

Heiji swallowed, he could see a short tremble going through the young body. How old must he be now? 16, no rather 17, still… almost a child. The Osakan shook his head and shoved these feelings down, which told him that he should grab the guy and tug him into a warm towel and get him somewhere dry, he was slowly turning into a mother hen recently. Kudo already couldn´t stand it back then when someone treated him like that and Heiji was sure he wouldn´t like it any better now.

'I guess I wouldn´t like it either. Besides… we're not here for that.'

While he hasn´t even finished the thought, Shinichi has stopped beshide himso that Heiji could now see the curious and visibly distressed eyes that had only been hidden behind a glassy façade all the time.

'Ya're a great detective Hattori, honestly.'

Hundreds of raindrops made his shoulders heavy with their irregular interval and in the mist of this dull sonata, he didn´t dare to interrupt the invisible conductor.

Shinichi stared at his friend in silence, Hattori on the other hand had lowered the flashlight towards a spot on the gravel, watching how the thick coat of rain made it seem like the light was dancing beneath his feet.

It seemed to take forever, until Heiji took a heavy breath and finally focused his gaze on Shinichi again.

"There is a reason why my deductions were wrong, Kudo." His eyes, which had just rested on the muddy gravel slowly turned back to Shinichi. He could see the tension in his body and the big question mark that still seemed to hover above him and yet,Heiji knew that his friend's mind was probably racing right now.

He opened his mouth, wanted to say something but remained silent instead. Only when Shinichi finally looked at him as well, the officer took a deep breath and slowly let the flashlight search its way, knowing that his friend's eyes would follow it.

The little candle, which should have lighten up this place, was long gone, nothing more than a smile pile of wax remained, which seemed to watch the rain from its lantern. The glow of Heiji's flashlight was enough to illuminate the silver letters that seemed to crush the delicate stone beneath them. The white marble glistered in the rain and a little silver drop ran down the frew lines on the gravestone.

 _ **Edogawa**_ _ **Conan**_

 _ **1988-1996**_

'No…'

Shinichi's hand covered his mouth, he didn´t notice the thick drops of rain dripping from his hair when he shook his head.

He couldn't believe it.

His eyes went back to the small lines, he still hoped that they would simply disappear, but the little silver letters remained exactly where they were.

'No!'

Heiji could hear how he gasped for air, the eyes of his friend were wide, it was obvious that he couldn't believe what they saw. None of them knew how long they remained standing there, Shinichi's breath still was irregular, he shivered while his hands slowly formed fists.

They had lied to him.

All the time.

"Hey, Kudo…"

Shinichi winced, and pulled away from the hand on his shoulder before he looked at his friend again. The stance of the Osakan suddenly seemed tired, Shinichi could see how he started to shiver in the cold rain. Hattori's eyes showed uncertainty and still a little spark of anger, which he obviously couldn't shake off, but there was something else, something that Shinichi had seen often these past days, not only in Heiji's eyes but in the eyes of the others as well.

Pain.

A pain, which he finally understood.

'No.'

He tasted blood, only now noticed that he was biting his lips but he didn´t care to change the pressure of his teeth. This was too much, far to much.

"Come on Kudo… lets go."

Heiji's voice ripped him from his thoughts.

His friend walked passed him, he didn´t bother to wait for an answer and soon heard that Shinichi was following him.

Both of them left the grave behind in darkness.

* * *

 ** _Hi everyone!_**

 ** _Today is "Nikolaus-day" here in Germany. Children put their shoes in front of their doors at night and Santa put's a little present in them, or sometimes visit them during the day – so I thought it would be a nice day to present you the next chapter! (still one of my favorite of the story!)_**

 ** _Thank you for 90! Followers! That's just amazing! And of course thanks to Tobina for being such an amazing Beta!_**

 ** _I hope you enjoyed the chapter!_**

 ** _And maaaaybe you could be so kind to leave a little review in my shoe too ^^_**

 ** _I wish you a nice, healthy and lovely merry Christmas with all your friends and family!_**

 ** _Till next time!_**

 ** _~ Shelling_**


	17. 17 Under Cover

**Under cover**

The water was pouring down on his shoulders, but for the first time today the rain was warm. The mirrors in the bathroom were fogged by the hot steam, but Shinichi didn't care for his looks tonight anyway, so he didn't need it. He swallowed and tried to focus on the soft massage of the warm water on his shoulders and took a long deep breath. The moist air filled his lungs, but the watery fog wasn't capable of clearing his thoughts. With a soft squeak of the tap, he stopped the water flow. A few last drops fell heavy and cold on his shoulders, the chill immediately reached underneath his skin and despite the warm towel around his shoulders, goose bumps formed on his arms.

Shinichi swallowed and dried himself off, before he jumped in his clothes - his own, not William Bell's. The churning feeling in his stomach however had another reason, and that reason was still sitting on the couch in the living room he was about to enter. For a brief moment he stopped in the small hallway that connected the living room with the bathroom and observed his friend from the door frame, who obviously hadn't noticed him yet.

Heiji was sitting there just like he had left him. Shinichi had expected that his friend had taken the house apart by now, looking for hidden cameras that would confirm him that everything that happened today was just a bad joke. Honestly, he had hoped that if Hattori would shower first, the water would be able to clear his mind, after they had soaked Heiji's rental car with their wet clothes. At least he was able to lend him some of Bell's dry clothes. So, the officer, who wanted to arrest him just a few hours ago, now sat there in his jeans and a plain white shirt. Shinichi tried to catch a glimpse of his face when Heiji, who finally noticed him, looked up.

'Kudo.'

No rests of make up, no false voice and no padded clothes that didn't fit to his face.

Heiji was sure that Shinichi himself wouldn't fit the clothes he was wearing as Bell that easily, so he probably had to do something for his thin fame not to get swallowed by the clothes of the criminology professor. What he wore now however, seemed to fit perfectly, but at the same time he couldn't hide who he was any longer.

Heiji swallowed, his eyes scanned his friend. It was like the past ten years didn't exist at all, like Kudo had just taken one of his cures to be himself again.

And yet he knew that if he would look in the mirror, the truth would be revealed, because he wasn't the seventeen year old high-schooler any longer, neither was Kudo… even if it looked like it at the first glance. But while he still looked at him, while he was still standing in the door fame, mute and with dripping wet hair, the more aware he became how wrong that first impression was.

The past ten years were written in his friend's face, something seemed different… he looked like the high-schooler from ten years ago and yet he didn't. Something had changed when he grew up for the second time.

It wasn't Kudo Shinichi before him, but a grown up Edogawa Conan.

„Hhm-rrh"

„Huh?"

Shinichi's harrumphing brought Heiji back to reality, but he did nothing but to observe how his friend finally went into the living room to let himself fall into a chair opposite of him.

Shinichi would love to crawl beneath the blanket of his bed right now, to drown the past days in some restful sleep. Well, that was not about to happen right now. Heiji still stared at him, or rather - again. Shinichi raised an eyebrow in annoyance. It felt like during the first hours after Hattori had figured out that he was Conan. When the Osakan finally knew who was standing in front of him, Hattori had looked like he was waiting for a blast of magic that would transform him back to his old self.

Shinichi smiled bitterly.

'I wish it were that easy…'

"How long does _this_ take?"

Now it was the detective who looked up in surprise. "What do you mean?"

Heiji rolled his eyes and pointed up and down his friend's body, to clarify his question.

"Bell - how long does it take for ya ta… dress up?"

Shinichi blinked - he was surprised that Hattori asked him that of all questions. But he didn't show his surprise and instead tugged at the sleeve of his shirt, while he answered him.

"If the masks are prepared, like they are right now, about an hour."

"Mhm…" Heiji nodded.

Silence.

Until the Osakan couldn't stand it any longer. With gnashing teeth he jumped from his seat, driving his hand through his hair while he started to pace back and forth.

"That's just completely nuts! This whole time, this damn whole time we thought ya kicked the bucket, and now ya're sittin' here like nothin' ever happened! Only for us ta figure out that ya didn't have a clue about tha crap tha FBI trot out. That's just sick. I mean, now ya're back, lyin' ta all of us, because this guys are still on tha loose and ya don't even know what happened here tha past ten years. And yet tha FBI allowed ya ta run into tha trap, even though they know about it… these arrogant ass-."

"Hattori…"

"What? It's true!"

"Sadly, but thank you for summing up the past weeks of my life in such a wonderful way. Believe me, I am just as angry as you are."

'If not more…'

"But it's useless to fret about it now. So tell me what happened, or rather what happened in your eyes. What did the FBI tell you?"

Shinichi pushed himself from his seat, he shared the anger of his colleague and he would love to send Jodie and the rest to hell right now. But fact was, that it wouldn't help them right now. If he wanted to wring their necks, he needed to know the whole story first.

Heiji, however had grown pale again under his friends request. With a long sigh he searched his way back to the sofa, staring on a random spot on the ground.

Shinichi could see how hard it was for his friend to talk about it. His heated tantrums were one thing, but this… this wasn't something the police officer liked to talk about it. Heiji's lips moved once and twice, without that a single sound escaped him, until he was finally able to get his voice under control.

"Actually, Kudo it should be ya explainin' yarself, not me." Heiji looked at the high-schooler in front of him for a while, before he continued like he hadn't said anything at all. His mouth was dry and Shinichi could see how the eyes of the police officer moved from left to right and back again, like he was reading a memorized text - well, if that was the case his friend desperately needed a prompter.

"When the Professor told my how yar 'amazing' plan - which was crap from the start, honestly, Kudo - anyway, when he told me what had happened, I set out searchin' for ya. Don't 'give me that look man, I know that ya told me ta stay with her, but damn, ya can't expect me ta stay calm waitin' for ya, when I heard that ya had yar hands full with those guys."

Shinichi's hard gaze grew soft when Heiji's voice was barely more than a whisper at the end.

The Osakan exhaled with a shiver, his lungs felt like an elephant had made itself comfortable on his chest. But the truth was, that it didn't matter if he had listened to Kudo or not… he had been to late anyway. He pressed his eyes shut and took a hard breath again.

"Don't even think that ya can leave me hangin' on tha sidelines ever again, Kudo." Heiji looked up to find a bitter smile on his friend's face. Heat of the past let goosebumps grow on the arms of the detective, he looked at his friend for a while before he started his tale in a rough smoky voice.

"Honestly, I have no idea how ya got out of there anyway, I really don't…"

XXX

The first thing he noticed, when he came closer was the acrid stench that found its way through his helmet while he was forking his way towards him. Firefighters, police and several ambulances lightened the dusk in flickering blue light, while the sunset wasn't the only thing that colored the sky in a dangerous red.

'Damn it, Kudo!'

He changed the gear of his motorbike and opened up. He could hear the engine roaring beneath him, at this rate he felt every tear and each tiny pebble on the road. He was aware of the honking cars he snaked through, saw the yellow light and turned the throttle level to its limits. No firefighter or police officer stopped him when he finally reached his destination. He went right through them and they better would be out of his way. Just when he pressed himself through the police cars, he finally had a clear view, so he turned off his bike to descend and took off his helmet.

The heat immediately burned his face.

The flames in the building rustled and greedily devoured everything in their way until nothing but acid black smoke remained. Heiji swallowed and harshly shook his head, he had no time to stand here in the soft grey rain of ashes. But the sheer force of the fire that raged in front of him seemed to freeze him on the spot. The gates to hell had opened, right here in Tokyo. No one could possibly survive this…

'Kudo…'

"No!"

He didn't bother to listen to the screams of the officers around him but stormed ahead, he could feel how the heat cut deeper in his flesh with every step. His whole body demanded of him to stop, not to get closer, but he didn't care to listen, it took someone else to keep him from the burning flames.

"Are you crazy boy!"

"You can't go in there!"

Four strong arms grabbed him from behind, holding him back with all the force they had, while their two owners tried to calm him down only to curse him for his stupidity afterwards.

"Damn it, what's wrong with you! The whole thing is burning like a torch, there is no way in or out."

"Cut the crap boy!"

"NO! Let go of me already!"

He tried to rip himself free from their hold, but the two officers were too strong for him, only digging their fingers deeper into his skin, turning his wrists around while they cursed him for being suicidal, since they only wanted to help this madman in the first place.

"Let go! Hands off, listen, I have ta-"

Then everything suddenly went silent around him with a loud bang.

People were screaming, even so no one could hear each other. The hustle, people running back and forth, even the two officers holding him back, still screaming at him, at least that's what he believed, watching their lips move, the blazing flames and sirens, no one heard any of this right now.

Everything was bizarre in this brief moment of silence, that was caused by the loud explosion that had torn the upper floor apart. Nothing seemed real any more, without the heat scorching his skin Heiji would have hoped that everything was nothing but a bad dream, in which someone had turned off the sound. But the real life announced itself again with a jarring beeping in his ears. His damaged hearing was slowly recovering, and when the shrill whistling in his ears was growing silent again, it was drowned by the noise of reality.

'Kudo… please don't be in there.'

The officers behind him cursed, while they looked up to the consuming flames.

"We need to get away from here!" The officer's voice sounded like he had just emptied a bottle of whisky along with his partner. The other only nodded, looking back into the flames only to turn his head away from the sight, blinking rapidly since the fire had dried his eyes out even from where they were standing.

"I doubt that they guys from the fire department will be able to help in this case." His gaze wandered to the high-schooler in their grip, it seemed like he had finally understood, because the anger in his big eyes suddenly mixed itself with despair.

"Come on man, there is nothing you can do."

Hattori however only moved when the officers tried to carry him away, but he was far from thankful.

"NO! Hands of! He's still in there, I need ta help him- I need ta-"

"Hattori-kun?"

Megure-keibu's voice finally managed to do what the other two couldn't - the Osakan finally stopped fighting, he blinked and slowly turned towards him. The police officer's face was covered in sweat, his eyes seemed glazed from the heat and his gaze demanded an explanation, even if he wasn't sure he truly wanted to hear the answer. He took a step towards the boy and gave the two officers that held him in place a sing to let him go, before he stepped in front of the burning building to block Hattori's few.

Megure put his hands on Heiji's shoulder, not too tight, but still with enough pressure to make it clear who was standing in front of him, enough pressure to stop him if necessary.

"Calm down Hattori-kun. Tell me what you know. Who else was in there?"

But Heiji couldn't do more than stare. Megure's eyes had already shown him what he didn't wanted to be true. Megure seemed to notice that as well because he closed his eyes, only to look at him sternly again.

"Hattori-kun- we… we found Haibara Ai in the basement, before the fire reached her." The officer swallowed, but his tongue was sticking to his palate. "Who else was in there Hattori-kun?"

"Ya haven't found him…"

It took some time until he spoke, his eyes lost his focus.

"Who, Heiji? Who?"

"Ku- Conan-kun…"

Megure felt how a shiver ran over his sweat covered back, for a short moment he closed his eyes and firmly shut his lips.

Just like he thought…

"But that…" Heiji's voice got him back to his senses, he waited in silence for the Osakan to continue.

"That doesn't have ta mean… it doesn't mean that-"

"No Hattori-kun, it doesn't." His tone was sober. It was the truth and besides it was the only thing his lips were able to form right now. Heiji's mind started to work again, Megure could see how the machine of a mind began to pick up its work again, even if it still seemed to stutter here and then.

"Ya said Habibara was there! Where is she now? Maybe she can tell us where he is or where ta search for him."

This time however, the officer's lips stayed shut.

Heiji saw that Megure's eyes were avoiding him, but he was too stubborn to listen to the little voice in his head.

"Come on, Megure-keibu, tell me where she is so we can start ta search for him."

Megure's eyes stayed glued to the asphalt, his voice cracked.

"Hattori…"

XXX

There wasn't much more to tell, because Heiji could only speculate about how the FBI had meddled with information afterwards. They had believed them - after all, why would the FBI lie about the matter? Besides… they knew more about the organization than everyone else. Hattori remembered the sour look he had shared with them when the FBI revealed how much Kudo still had hidden from him. But all of them had accepted it sooner or later.

Well… all of them, except one.

"Ran… Kudo, she never really believed it."

Heiji's gaze slid over the rim of his coffee cup, green eyes looking urgently at Shinichi. He had so many questions. He wanted to know what really happened back then, but one look into the high-schoolers face told him that he couldn't press Kudo any further tonight.

His eyes were glued to the tabletop, he was pale and pressed one fist against his lips to prevent that the nausea inside him was searching its way out.

Because nausea was all he felt right now. Heiji's story had turned his stomach upside down.

Fuck, they had buried him!

And Haibara…Shiho-

"Who else knows?"

The Osakan looked up, surprised by the sudden reaction after the long silence.

"What do ya mean?"

"Ai and Conan, who else knows about it?"

"Well, we told tha FBI about it, but obviously, they weren't too surprised." A snort accompanied his sentence, before he changed the pitch of his voice into something softer.

"And we told tha Mori's… after all, it was clear that Kudo wouldn't come back either and while we were talking about it, tha kid's also got wind of it. Quite a drama if ya ask me…"

"The police-"

"Still don´t know. We didn't thought it was necessary for them ta know causin' more turmoil, especially since tha organization was still active."

Shinichi only nodded, his eyes were darting back and force and Heiji could see how his friend's mind was trying to process everything he'd heard.

Silence stretched between them.

"What are ya up ta Kudo? Ya can't go on-"

"Yes. Yes I can."

Heiji had known that Kudo wouldn't listen to him, just like he didn't when it was about her.

With a loud sigh, Shinichi pushed himself from his chair and yawned, knowing very well that Hattori was still watching him. But he wasn't ready to talk about this now, or any time at all.

"We should call it a night. I doubt that Megure-keishi will be in a good mood tomorrow, now that he lost his main suspect."

Heiji didn't respond to him at first, both of them knew that Kudo was trying to change the topic - and with one last look to his friend's tired features, he decided to do him the favor today. But he was not about to wait for long. It was time for a certain Kudo Shinichi to come clear with everything the FBI had done to him. Not just for himself… but for Ran as well, after all… there still was Bell.

'Shit, Kudo, I don't want ta be close if she gets hint of tha fact that ya're lyin' ta her again.'

With a defeated smile Heiji pushed himself up from the couch, only to notice what damage the chase after ball had done to his body these last days.

"I'll take the couch."

"Huh?"

Hearing Kudo's voice again, still caused a shiver to run down his spine. His friend just rolled his eyes, gathered a couple of pillows to create himself a bed for the night and searched for a blanket while he spoke.

"There's just one bedroom and the bed is definitely not big enough for the both of us,Hattori. Those days are gone and besides… I think you should bed your old bones on a real mattress."

The corners of Heiji's mouth twitched dangerously, but before the Osakan had the chance to answer the jibe, Shinichi continued. He found a blanket and was now rather satisfied with his place for the night, so that he now looked back to his friend, who just waited to serve him an answer to his cheekiness.

"Honestly, do you think I look forward to have someone standing at my doorstep hopping mad, just because you get home all dozy? No thank you, I don't need that kind of visit from Kazuha." He just wanted to open his mouth again, to congratulate them casually to their engagement, marriage or whatever, when he considered not to. That could wait, it only would lead them to other topics that might steal them even more sleep.

'And I already feel like falling over."

Heiji sighed while he buried his hands in the pockets of his pants, accepting his fate.

"Come on, I'll show you around."

With that Shinichi went ahead, waiting for Heiji to follow him, but it didn't escape the police officer that his friend skipped a room during his tour.

XXX

Heiji felt like a bus had hit him. He had almost overslept, because he forgot to put the alarm on his phone from vibration to sound. If this stupid thing hadn't fallen down from his nightstand due to its vibration, he would probably still be sleeping. No wonder, because the sun would never have woken him up, since Kudo had neatly closed every shutter. The room was pitch black. After he bumped his knee on the edge of the bed and earned himself a bruised toe on the doorframe, he finally found his way into the small hallway. And behold - it was light. Although the shutters were closed here as well, there was a small light shining from the kitchen. With a tired yawn the detective shuffled towards the smell of coffee.

He still couldn't get it.

The fact that Kudo was here, alive.

And he had suspected him to be a member of the organization and imprisoned him.

'Arrested, damn it.'

Heiji rolled his eyes, massaging the bridge of his nose to calm his throbbing headache. He was such a great detective - and even a much better friend when he not even managed to see through the man standing in front of him.

"Good Morning."

He just stepped into the small kitchen, when he greeted him. Shinichi sat at the kitchen table, looking over his built up wall of coffee cups, notebooks and laptop. Without mentioning the silence of his friend he continued.

"No news till now. None of the family members or friends of our victims were able to give us some new information and beside a reporter who randomly tripped over a body again, we got nothing. The only theme the paparazzi are filling the papers with is Bell's short visit behind barred windows." Shinichi yawned, stretched himself and slid back into his chair his hands crossed behind his head.

"Well, fine with us. The less they stick their noses into actual important matters, the better. So far the news from the web. We should get a newspaper later, there is a small tobacco shop around the corner, I just wasn't there yet."

Silence.

Hattori blinked, overwhelmed by the early monologue of his supposed-to-be dead friend.

"'Morning."

The silence that surrounded them now let the tension rise again, just what the detective of the east had tried to cover with his speech. Heiji swallowed, still warily eying his friend, who cut through the tension with a question.

"Coffee?"

Shinichi pointed over his shoulder towards the coffee maker on the kitchenette.

"There you go, I already got you a fresh cup."

With a low mumble, Heiji stepped past him and put the cup beneath the coffee spout, pressing the button twice to fill it. While the monster in his back sounded like it was grinding pebbles instead of coffee beans, Heiji's gaze followed Shinichi's, only to notice that his friend was right, if 'Holmes' had found himself a new victim they would know about it. His eyes wandered to the open notebook. He couldn't read anything from here actually, but he saw that the handwriting wasn't Kudo's own, but for now it was better to react to Kudo's empty cup of coffee instead his skills as a counterfeiter.

"Do ya want one too?"

"Thanks' but no. I already had too many, honestly. And to answer your question, yes, I've been awake for a while now. Nice deduction, Sherlock."

Hattori's raised eyebrow slowly fell again, almost a little too low due to the teasing of his colleague, but he had no desire to fight. Because that was just what Kudo wanted in order to distract him from the situation.

Because the fact that Shinichi probably barely slept, wasn't hard to miss. He was pale and the dark bags beneath his eyes remembered Heiji of a certain FBI agent. Even if he didn't know Kudo's 'normal' state any longer, he could see something in his friend's features that he knew quite well.

Anger.

The shock of yesterday had passed, but his anger stayed, boiling inside him, even if he tried to hide it, Hattori recognized the signs. The fake smile, his tense features and the constant alarm behind those watchful eyes.

'I doubt that it'll take ya long ta explode…'

Heiji sighed, he took a slip of his coffee and looked at Shinichi over the rim of his cup.

'It would be better if ya let tha bomb explode here than in tha headquarters. I really don't want ta be tha one coverin' ya again.'

"Kudo, ya-"

"- Should probably take that call, Hattori."

The police officer pointed a weird look at him, before he clumsily fished his mobile from his pocket, which had started to ring. With a look at the display, he nodded at Shinichi and answered the call.

"Good Morning, Megure-keishi. What is it?" Heiji's eyes immediately grew wide.

"I'm on my way!"

XXX

The hospital atmosphere cause a shiver to run down his spine, but Shinichi had other worries right now, because he forgot to think about how people would react to him after his small visit to the prison. Actually, he had hoped that only few would recognize him, but it seemed that Bell's foreign face was causing him some trouble, making him stand out from the crowd. The looks of the people were glued to him while he followed Heiji through the corridors of the hospital.

"That won't make the investigations easier…" Shinichi hissed between his teeth, but still loud enough for Heiji to hear.

"Don´t worry Kudo, if ya wouldn't have that thing on yar face, they would stare even more."

"Hattori, you-"

"Hattori-keiji?"

Heiji stopped in surprise, looking towards the young officer who had appeared out of nowhere and interrupted them.

"That's me- what can I do for ya, officer-"

"Noakazu Joichi." The young man bowed rather deep in front of his superior, so that his glasses nearly slipped from his nose.

"Megure-keishi told me to inform you that you may wait for him here. The victim has an appointment with one of the doctors right now and we're only allowed to question her afterwards."

Heiji sighed, shoving his hands into his pockets.

"Great, why did he tell us ta hurry when we're supposed ta kick our heels for now."

'Truth to be told, Hattori, you didn't even let him finish, before you stormed of - maybe he would have told you.'

But Heiji didn´t see more than the twitch from the corner of his mouth that revealed his thought, instead Bell took the next best seat in the hallway and looked around.

The weren't far from her room anyway. Unobtrusive as ever, they had two officers guarding the door. With a silent curse and one look to the clock, Heiji took a seat beside him. He was lucky that he had at least finished his coffee while Kudo had 'prepared' himself to accompany him.

Heiji started to look around the corridor as well, he noticed that there weren't many people around, before he recognized that Nakazu's gaze still lingered on him.

"Is there anything else I can help ya with?"

The nervousness of the officer also pulled Shinichi's attention back to him. The young man awkwardly chewed his already brittle lips until he finally was able to stutter his question.

"Do… do you think that's a good idea, Hattori-keiji?"

"Huh? I'm afraid ya have ta be a little more specific."

But before Heiji could answer, a smile had formed itself on Shinichi's lips, the gaze of the police officer was priceless.

"Well, to bring _him_ along."

Hattori's eyebrows shot up, his gaze wandered to his friend, who was sitting beside him with a blissful grin. He could almost read Kudo's thought right now.

'Yes Hattori! Do you really think that it's a good idea to bring the guy you chased until yesterday along? Shame on you.'

He grimaced before he turned back to the young officer with a tired sigh.

"He's sitting here, beside me, right?"

"Ah- yes, yes he does, b- but-"

"No buts. Professor Bell is innocent and there is no reason for him not ta be here ta help tha investigations. Isn't that right, Hattori-keiji?"

Shinichi had jumped from his seat the moment he heard her, turning to face the direction of which it came from rather slowly, while Hattori also noticed that goosebumps had formed on his arms by her sharp tone.

She clearly got that from her mother.

"That's true. But first, good morning Ran-san."

Heiji also rose from his seat, walking towards her while he tried to from a friendly smile on his lips.

'What the heck are you doing here? No Hattori- not like this.'

"Say Ran-chan, are ya here to visit someone?"

"What? No, no I'm not. I'm here because of the case. Dad told me what happened and honestly, I thought the kid's might be here." An embarrassed hint of red tinted her cheeks, which fastened Shinichi's heartbeat, even if he wasn't anywhere close to her.

"But Heiji-kun, you won't believe who I ran into yesterday! Jodie Starling, she told me it was a short visit to pick up some old files, but maybe she would be helpful in this case? Since we already have one American on our side, right Professor?"

But the hallway behind Heiji was empty beside the officer and the two guards in front of the victims door.

"Strange…"

"Don´t worry about it Ran-chan! These past days have been hard on him. So tell me, did Jodie bring some news?"

Ran just looked at him in surprise, but didn't see Heiji's nervous smile, because her eyes were still fixed on the empty hallway.

It took some time until she finally found her voice again, but her tone was nothing like it had been before. It sounded quiet and anxious and yet it held a spark of hope.

"Honestly, Heiji-kun… what is she doing here?"

XXX

It was too much, way to much.

He wasn't able to look at her, knowing what he'd done, even if he couldn't blame that on himself this time.

How she must have felt, or his parents.

Shinichi swallowed, pressing his lips shut while he struggled for air.

They all believed him to be…

'Shit!'

He was wrestling for breath now, but still felt like he was choking like a fish out of water. He got suffocated by this lie, this dirty little story that wasn't even his own. And never should have been.

Yet they still dared to come.

He swallowed and tried to take a deep breath.

Breathing in and out.

In and out.

In, out.

Breathing.

"Fuck!"

Without thinking about it any longer, he tugged out his mobile from his pocket. He didn't notice that his hands were shaking, nor that his fingers were so cold that he could barely feel the display beneath them.

He listened to the dial tone that covered the rush of his blood in his own ears in an irregular interval. After a short hustle in the line, he heard her voice clear as a bell and happy like most of the time. Shinichi snorted, why had he agreed to their game in the first place - he knew very well how an organization like the FBI worked.

He should have known.

"Hey, Shinichi, how's it going over there…?"

"Cut the act, Jodie, you better start telling me what you thought by pronouncing Edogawa Conan's death." Bell's voice was surprisingly calm.

For a second Jodie seemed to consider if her ears had betrayed her, there was nothing but silence until she finally answered. Her voice had changed from 'nice English teacher' to FBI Argent. All servant to her country.

"So… you know?"

"Yeah, I do! Imagine, last night Hattori blamed me for being a member of the organization, and moreover, the murderer we're trying to catch here! Imagine - he accused me of just using a disguise to fool him, the police and pretty much the rest of the world." His voice had grown dark and full of sarcasm, he could hear how she took a sharp breath on the other side of the line. Her question sounded hoarse.

"What?!"

"Nice, isn't it? But no need to worry about that any longer, he just ripped my face off. Literally."

A dry laugh left Shinichi's lips while he shook his head in fake amusement.

"Yes, and you could never believe his reaction when he saw that it was just me, Kudo Shinichi, the one who disappeared ten years ago. Cause while I was apologizing and explaining myself to him, he just stared at me like he had seen a ghost and well… then the shouting thing began anew."

He swallowed, but the smile on his lips died.

„Anyway, he ended up being right after all. It could just have been a ghost standing there in front of him. Due to the fact that Kudo Shinichi is already dead."

"Shinichi, listen…"

"No. No I've had enough of that. It's not just what you've done to me, or that you never told me. I'm used to be left in the dark by your stupid company. But it's a nasty fact that the little story you made up here isn't just affecting me…"

His voice broke. Only now he realized how dry his throat was. He nearly flinched when she began to speak again.

"I know. I know you must be upset, but if you will just calm down for a minute, I'll explain it to you-"

"No! It's enough! Your rules, your instructions and your - steady interference."

"But-"

„And now you're telling me to stay calm! Stay fucking calm! No way after what you've done! Mind your own business, would you! Cause I am no longer yours."

Shinichi's chest rapidly moved up and down. He had become loud, screamed at her, or rather his mobile, right here in the hospital. But he couldn't care less about it. It wasn't just the lie… he had trusted them and now he felt betrayed.

Jodie on the other hand had grown silent on the other end of the line. She seemed to guess what was going on inside him, because her next words were barely more than a whisper.

"You can't honestly be blaming me."

"Yeah, I can."

She didn't answer, for a moment silence hung between them until _his_ voice echoed through the speaker.

"We just tried to make sure all of them were safe, something you always pretended to care for. But to be honest, Kudo, it's not like you have been very successful the last time you tried to protect someone."

Shinichi's voice wasn't less cold than Akai's.

"Neither have you."

With that he ended his call, he could still see Jodie's ID on the display, a picture of the blond smiling into the camera, while she tugged her arm beneath her glum looking colleague.

He was done.

* * *

 ** _Happy New Year Everyone!_**

 ** _I hope you enjoy the early update ^^ Tobina did a amazing job as a beta once again! Thanks for all your support, reviews and Likes! I wish a happy new year to each and everyone of you!  
_**

 ** _And of course I would love to hear your option again!_**

 ** _Till next month~_**

 ** _Shelling_**


	18. 18 Riddle

**Riddle**

He looked tired.

That was the first thing she noticed when Bell came back. She told him that Heiji was already in the patient's room and they would call him inside as soon as she was ready. Ran didn´t tell him about the skepticism of Megure when Heiji had told them who was accompanying him. Heiji had only told him that they would be certain about the accusation against Bell, if the woman recognized him.

The manner in which the young police officer had combed through his hair had exposed his lie. Ran had grown suspicious. For one, she wondered why they had released Bell if the victim hadn´t made her testimony yet, because that was, due to the phone call with her mother yesterday evening, the only thing that would be able to get him out.

She had told her quite much about her meeting with Bell.

Usually the queen of the court was more secretive about her clients, but it seemed that she had made an exception for him. Ran swallowed and brushed a strand of her hair behind her ear but didn´t dare to look at the man who had taken his seat right beside her.

He was hiding something from them.

Her mother had told her that much. There was a gap in the police report, what matched with what he had told her, more or less. But he hadn´t even told Eri, his lawyer who wouldn´t use it against him, a word about it.

So why was he here?

Free?

That was question number one.

Question number two was a bit more difficult.

Until yesterday, Heiji seemed to hate Bell's guts and today, he dragged the American with him into the hospital and insisted to bring him back into the case - to investigate and not as a suspect.

What had changed that they let him go and for Heiji to befriend with him so suddenly and why was Jodie here for God's sake?

Ran shivered, all those questions formed goose bumps on her arms and a dull pain started to throb behind her temples. She was tired of it! Questions, secrets and lies, couldn´t the people around her be honest - just for once!

Why wasn´t it possible to put the cards on the table, instead of playing tricks with a fake smile, pretending that everything was alright.

'Because it's not! Nothing is.'

"Mori-san? Are you alight?"

His voice came out of nowhere, the well-intentioned question only irked her even more.

"No!"

She had started to shiver with anger, only now noticing that she had been far too loud. Ashamed, she turned away from him while a pink shimmer graced her cheeks.

"I'm sorry I… guess I spaced out."

Bell looked at her in surprise, even flinched back a little but now, worry was clearly visible in his eyes.

"I just- you're shivering, that's why I thought that-"

She followed his questioning look, and only now registered the goose bumps crawling up her arms.

"Please excuse me, I'm afraid I didn´t listen. I guess this case is taking more out of me than I thought."

Bells look brushed her briefly, but still long enough to increase the red shade in her face. His expression was cool, only his raspy voice revealed that he wasn´t holding up any better than her.

"I'm sorry about that."

Shinichi's heartbeat echoed in his ears. It slowly dawned him what was going on, why she couldn´t look him in the eye. The knowledge hit him like a wave, soaking his body in a warm pleasant shower. Even the little voice in the back of his head that was screaming for help, begging him to stop, was powerless against this physical reaction.

This should never have happened.

He swallowed, shaking his head, what caused Bell's glasses nearly to slip from his nose. He slowly pushed them back.

Ran was watching him from the corner of her eyes. She noticed how her heart started to beat faster, she could feel it in her chest. She turned her gaze away from him, biting the inside of her cheek.

'Stop it…'

She sighed, staring at the empty wall of the hospital hallway like it would show her the solution for all her problems. But instead of an answer he only saw a small clock, which mocked him with the passing time even further. The detective frowned and took a look at his own wristwatch, before he looked back to the wall, it seemed that the stupid thing seemed to be an hour ahead.

Shinichi shook his head, shifting his eyes back to his trembling fingers in his lap.

Why him?

Why was she attracted to the man who was growing more inscrutable with each day, becoming an enigma to her. A short smile shivered across her lips.

'I guess I've learned more from you than I can bear, right, Shinichi?'

Her eyes flickered to Bell, who was scribbling something into his small note book.

'It seems like I love riddles just as much as you do.'

"Professor?"

Both of them twitched in surprise when the officer suddenly stood before them.

"We're ready for you now."

Bell only nodded and pushed himself up from his seat. Ran could see how it started working behind her glasses, his calm appearance was nothing more than façade. He seemed to notice her glance, turning towards her with a smile, offering the rather surprised woman a hand.

"Well I guess we should go now, right?"

Ran swallowed, nodded and took his hand. The contact was brief and Bell turned his back to her only a second later to vanished in the patient's room, but the touch still pulsated in her fingertips with a soft pounding.

The air in the room seemed to grow thick when he entered, his gaze wandered from Heiji, who was standing at the door frame to Megure, who had settled into a chair next to the patient's bedside. Takagi stood, notebook in his hands behind his chef. His eyes drove to the two strongly build officers in the room, unmistakably the sort of policemen that had been protecting the witness until now. Mori stood beside him, had opened the door for him and now looked at Shinichi a minute too long for his taste, before he let him in.

The light curtains were closed, so that the penetrating sunlight drowned the room in a pale light. Not really beneficial for the already pale complexion of the face, Bell's gaze now rested on.

Her lips weren´t blue any more and the bloody red collier was covered in thick white gauze, while her eyes no longer seemed dull and lifeless. She looked at him, unsure what was about to happen next before her eyes grew big in recognition.

"YOU!?"

He flinched briefly, immediately noticed how the police officers in the room where reaching for their guns when she recognized his face. She seemed to notice their reaction, pushing herself up from the mattress to sit straighter.

"No! No, it`s not what you think, he…" her eyes wandered back to Bell, her former hysterical voice was now a hoarse whisper.

"… he saved me."

Ran saw how the stiff features of the Professor softened, before a polite smile snuck to his lips. Heiji who still stood beside the door took a relieved breath as well, while the remaining officers in the room still shared a skeptical glance and watched tense how the Professor made another step towards the victim.

"I wouldn´t call that a rescue to be honest. I guess you can rather thank Megure-keishi and Hattori-keiji for that, Miss-"

"Kikuja, Kikuja Mira." The smile on the lips of the American grew. He just wanted to return the introduction, when she cut him off again.

"I think, I'm quite right thanking you, Professor Bell. If not for you, you would rather attend my autopsy today instead of questioning me."

Shinichi raised his eyebrow and the other officers as well had a hard time believing what kind of joke she just made, according to how much truth her words held. Her cheeks were turning red in embarrassment now, showing that she understood that her joke had been a little off of what one would call gallows humor.

"Please excuse me. It's just… I know very well, that I barely escaped, Professor and whom I escaped from. Even though I had no idea who he was when he attacked me. I had no time to turn around to face him, I only understood who he was, when I saw you on my terrace. "Holmes", the man you're searching for, the one you're supposed to hunt."

Bell nodded thoughtfully, adjusting his glasses, while he spoke.

"That's right. That was the reason I wanted to consult you two days ago."

Heiji stepped beside him and nodded in affirmation. "Megure-keishi already told you that you're the third victim so far. We learned from Aya-san's parents that she had met the first victim, Satoru-kun, in your café, so they have known each other. And of course we took that as a lead to finally find a connection between the two victims."

Megure nodded and took over. "Listen Kikuja-san, I know that it won´t be easy for you, but it would be a great help if we could go over the two other cases with you."

The doctor, who had kept in the background until now, cleared his throat, but Megure knew what he wanted already. Carefully, Megure laid his hand on the shoulder of the young woman while he spoke.

"Of course, we would understand if it's too much to ask right-"

"Never mind."

"Huh?"

"I want you to get this guy and I already know one or two things from the newspapers anyway." Her gaze fell back to Bell, who shared a soft smile with the suddenly so lively witness.

"I guess you want to know if I remember the two victims? Yes, I do. However, they didn´t talk much, not to me at least."

"Alright, I guess you know that we have to search through your café, is there something that could help us to find a connection between them?" Megure's tone was soft and inviting so that the pressure behind his question wasn´t so touchable. But Mira still seemed to know about the importance of it and was thinking hard while she twirled a strand of her hair around her finger.

"I guess I could give you access to the sales and individual bills, perhaps that way I can tell you when they have been at my place, and maybe I can even give you a few names of the other people that were present then." She looked up hopefully. "Would that help?"

"At least it wouldn´t hurt to try. Mori-kun?"

Kogoro, twitched, obviously ripped from his thoughts, before his gaze wandered to his boss, nodding dutifully. "Consider it done, Megure-keishi."

Megure waited until the scraping sound of Takagi's pen fell silent, the shadows in his face seemed to grow darker, it was obviously hard for the experienced officer to ask the next question.

"Kikuja-san, I know you already told us what happened and I know it's a lot to ask this of you again, but-", his slightly hoarse voice was interrupted by her.

"You want me to be more specific about the culprit."

A short smile crept over Bell's lips when he saw the intelligent spark in the woman's eyes.

He had to admit that she surprised him.

Calm, demanding, almost cheeky from time to time after what she had been through, and while she was still in danger. But the smile on his lips quickly vanished by this thought.

She was almost too calm.

Shinichi swallowed, pushing his glasses back in place and stroke a couple of Bell's blonde hair from his face. There was a question that was nagging him for a while now, and was troubling him even more now, but he had no evidence, and to simply ask away such a question would earn him more than a glare from Megure.

'No, I can´t do that.'

His eyes went to Heiji, who, truly the busy police officer, was writing something in his notebook. The detective sighed, guiding his glance back to the victim.

'At least there is some use that you now know about me Hattori, because with you on my side the investigation will be a lot easier now.'

"I can only tell you that he was wearing black gloves and a black leather jacket, those are the only things I was able to see while he…"

Megure nodded, saving her to relive everything she went through again.

"He didn´t talk to you? He didn´t tell you to hold still or anything like that, so that you can describe his voice?" Heiji's eyes patiently rested on her. "Think about it…"

"No… no. He said nothing. I would have noticed it if he would have made the slightest sound, he was so close, I could even feel his breath on my cheek. Believe me, I would have heard him."

Heiji's gaze wandered from her to Bell. It was still difficult for him to recognize his old friend behind the rigid mask. The silicon protected him, a look into his eyes alone revealed that the detective was deep in thought, only a faint chough announced his question.

"You told us that he had a firm grip on you, what I herby want to confirm, Megure-keishi. He was also a lot taller than Kikuja-san. But what I really want to ask is, if you have been so close to him, there might be more you've noticed about him. His build? Or a certain smell, a perfume maybe?" He could see how she frowned and started to think, before he hastily interrupted.

"No, please, try not to think about it. We would only get things that aren't true, because you want to help us with an answer. Don´t even try. I want you to tell me the first thing, that comes to your mind when you remember the culprit and the situation."

She nodded, her eyes showed that she already seemed to be far away right now, nearly hypnotized by Bell's words, when she started to speak.

"It smelled of rain,… of leather, his gloves and…" She blinked, looking at him in confusion.

"There was something else, a biting scent." Mira swallowed and shook her head.

"I fear I can't be more specific, maybe it's because I woke up here, but if I have to, I would say it smelled of this place. Like a hospital." Her cheeks grew red.

"I guess it's because that's the first thing I remember when I woke up. But if I do as you've told me to then-"

"It's alright, Kikuja-san. Please try to elaborate it some more."

"Alcohol, no iodine, at least something that immediately stings in the nose when you enter a hospital or a doctor's office."

Bell nodded thankfully, before he stepped back to let Megure take the field once more while he took some notes.

The butterflies in Ran's stomach settled slowly while her eyes still lingered on Bell, who was polishing his glasses lost in thought. Megure was telling Kikuja-san that she was under police protection from now and had nothing to worry. She smiled weakly and Ran immediately saw how sleep was slowly creeping into her eyes. Even Megure seemed to notice that, so that the whole group bid their goodbye. They had nearly been through the door when Mira's voice stopped them.

"Professor, wait… say, wasn´t there someone else with you back then?" She looked at the American and Ran could see that his features had grown tense, before he finally answered.

"I fear you're mistaken, Kikuja-san. Try not to think about it for a while and leave the rest to us."

Mira nodded, but her gaze followed him until the door closed behind him, and yet she couldn't shake the feeling that there had been another one helping her. Like a ghost, nearly drowned by the thick black void that made her faint and yet she remembered a young face, which's eyes were full for terror and fear, maybe even more than her own.

XXX

A deep sigh escaped the throat of the former "sleeping" Kogoro. It hadn´t cost much persuasion to convince Ran that he would drive her home on his way to Poirot's, and yet he recognized that his daughter's thoughts where elsewhere.

They talked about the weather, his work and about the fact that it was useless for her to follow the police right now if the kid's weren't there. Alight - this argument came from him, but still. They talked about all that, everything but him. Mori's eyebrows drew together, he roughly turned into the next gear, so that the car seemed to make a little jump.

His gaze fell back to his daughter, who was still playing with her phone. There was no hint of the slight red shimmer on her cheeks, or of the shiver in her tone when she spoke with Bell. Alone the glint in her eyes was still witness of what he had done to her. Her father bit his lips, using his side-glance while turning around the corner to get a glimpse of his daughter with a suppressed sigh.

'Oh, Ran…'

He would love to be happy for her, after all Ran was finally back to her old self, but after what his wife had told him yesterday, he had a hard time doing so.

XXX

His evening beer hissed in his glass, the TV showed the typical mystery. A case, which's culprit was known from the start, along with a detective who had a rather dark past, who revealed the murderer within a few hours. Kogoro snorted, twitching his moustache back and forth in annoyance.

'So authentic.'

He fished for his glass, took a long slip while he was thinking about his dinner, which should be ready after three more minutes in the microwave. But instead that the damn machine finally beeped for him to come and get his food, the door bell rang through the house.

 _Once._

He closed his eyes, not thinking about getting up at all.

 _Twice._

Kogoro opened one eye again, looking at the TV that punished him with commercials.

 _Thrice._

"Oh, damn!"

The police officer put his beer down, slipped into his house shoes and shuffled into the hallway, where he vigorously opened the door.

"What the-? Eri."

He blinked, before he stepped aside to let his "Ex"-wife inside. She was visiting quite often, now that Ran had her own apartment and they both had grown closer again, but none of them was yet ready for the next step. Even when he usually enjoyed her visits, he really wasn´t that happy to see her right now, after all he had spent all night dealing with Bell. But of course she didn´t care about that. With a tired sigh, he closed the door behind her and followed her into the living room, where she had already taken a seat at the table, eyeing his beer glass in annoyance. Kogoro didn´t say anything, instead took a sip from his glass before he set it aside.

"Can I offer you something, Eri?"

"No, thank you." Her tone was cold and reserved, he hadn´t heard her like that for a while now.

"Fine." He swallowed, nervously twitching on his seat.

"If you change your mind, you know where to find everything."

But instead of a nod he only earned a sharp gaze from Eri, before she suddenly started to speak. "Ran called me this morning. She asked me to represent William Bell in the current case."

Kogoro looked at her like he'd seen a ghost. Eri noticed how the vein in his temple started to grow, but she didn´t allow him to voice his opinion yet.

"Let me finish before you're growing upset, Kogoro." The lawyer sighed, smoothing her skirt.

"You know how hard it is to say no to our daughter, especially as resistant as she has been in this case." She waited for him to nod, before she continued.

"I was there. I read through his file and talked to him, and even though you're right and the evidence is pointing at him, I doubt that you've got the right guy."

That, however was enough for the officer to boil over. "Great, so this guy was able to lull you in. Honestly, Eri, you can´t believe that-"

"Wait a second, Kogoro. Please don´t try to think like a police officer for once."

That seemed to do the trick and finally made Mori shut up. He looked up carefully.

"You and I, we both have seen enough criminals to know who is lying and who isn´t. Of course, that doesn´t apply to everyone, but sill… I don´t think Bell is a bad guy."

"So what! There is something wrong with this guy, Eri!"

She nodded in hesitation and her sharp tone softened somewhat. "I'm just saying that I doubt he's a murderer, Kogoro. Nothing else. Because… I have to admit that you're right, he's hiding something from us, something that is connected to this case. And yet, a secret that seemed to be worth to protect, so that he would rather accept being accused of murder instead of telling us the truth."

Mori's fist thundered on the coffee table and made it waver beneath his strength. "I knew it! I knew right from the start that something was wrong with this guy when he showed up, running around the crime scene like he was something special."

Eri watched her husband, observing the angry glimmer in his eyes while he was throwing a tantrum. A small smile crept to her lips.

"So, you've noticed it too."

"Huh?"

"Ran."

His cheeks grew red immediately, he took a sharp breath being caught on the spot, while he tried to avoid her eyes.

"I've no idea what you're talking about, woman."

But her grin only grew at his snarl. "You might be a blockhead on crime scenes sometimes, Kogoro, but if it's about your daughter, you're worse than a mother hen."

His cheeks continued to burn bright red, but it was gone fast when he crossed his arms in front his chest, looking at her with a serious expression. "So you're thinking as well that he's throwing herself at my baby girl?"

Ere smiled. 'Your baby girl, huh?'

"I wouldn´t quite put it like that, Kogoro, Ran isn´t really passive in this whole scenario."

The detectives face grew tense.

"The manner in which she looks at him, speaks with him along with her concern… I'm sure you noticed that already."

A murmured "so what" was all she got as an answer between his tightly pressed lips.

"Her behavior was the reason I considered to take his case and the reason why I hope that I'm wrong about William Bell. I hope him to be innocent, in each point. I haven´t seen her like that in a long time, Kogoro." She swallowed and broke the eye contact with her husband.

"Not since-"

"I know." He sighed, droving his hand though his hair, leaving it even more tousled.

"I know."

His stomach grumbled in protest, he could feel the bile crawling up his throat, at the very thought alone.

'Why? Why did it have to be him, Ran?'

He had no idea why his Ran had fallen in love with this wannabe detective of all people, even worse, why she still thought of him. Well… until now at least. Him, who had to put his nose into the matters of others, before he had to pay for it.

Even though everyone had told her that he only wanted to protect her, she still had suffered over all these years. There had been other men before Bell, who he might have accepted by her side at some point, but the heart of his little girl was still reserved for Kudo alone. No one was able to earn her love, since she still refused to belief in his death. He had tried to explain it to her, sometimes gently sometimes hard, after all she was ruining her life waiting for him. But Ran never said anything against the facts and evidence, she didn´t try to argue with him, but only looked at him with a sad smile.

" _You don´t understand it, Otousan_."

'Ran…'

He swallowed, combed with his fingers through his hair again before he looked back to his wife. For a second he'd forgotten that she was there, honestly, but she didn´t comment on his silence, she was just watching him, while he was brooding in silence.

"Do you- do you think that Ran was right all along?" His voice was hoarse, he looked up and immediately noticed that Eri knew what he was talking about. The detective bit his lips, chewing on his moustache, waiting for an answer.

Eri hesitated, choosing her words carefully. "I don´t know, Kogoro. It's impossible with everything we know but… we're talking about Kudo after all." A bitter smile crossed her red lips, but Mori didn´t saw it while he was rubbing his temple.

"Our daughter always had sort of a sixth sense when it's about him, she always knew when something was wrong with the little brat as well." Both parents were silent for a while, each of them had to swallow the conclusion they just reached.

Either this American had really managed to get through her walls like no other man before, or he did it because he already had the key to the door to begin with.

But how?

The whole thing resulted in an agreement that they would keep each other informed. It had taken a lot of persuasion to keep Eri from cooking something for him. He would have rather slaughtered his wallet to take her out, but she had refused the invitation and left. He knew why. His own appetite was gone after this conversation as well.

XXX

Kogoro sighed and looked to his daughter, who was fiddling with her mobile again. What happed today hadn´t eased his thoughts at all.

Ran however didn´t notice her father, her fingers flew over the display of her phone, while a small wrinkle of worry placed itself between her eyebrows when she checked her inbox again.

 _ **Empty.**_

She had sent the message while she had been waiting along with Bell in the hospital, but still hasn´t received an answer yet, what just troubled her even more because it wasn't like them at all. Ran switched through her sent SMS, she could see that the very message she worried about had been sent and read already.

 _ **To: Yoshida Ayumi, Kojima Genta, Tsuburaya Mitsuhiko**_

 _ **Text: Where are you?**_

XXX

The tea in front of them had long gone cold and even the cake that the Professor had gotten from the small bakery around the corner, wasn't completely gone.

It was rare that the so-called "headquarters" of the detective boys was so silent. Agasa had been with them for a while, waiting for them to talk. No one remembered how long it took for the old scientist to leave them alone, telling them that they would find him in his workshop if they would need him. The faces of the high-schoolers had told him that they were working on a case that brought them to their limits. It was more than just ambition to solve the case by themselves. A bitter smile crept beneath his snow-white beard - Agasa knew this expression just too well.

Mitsuhiko swallowed, trying to get rid of the dry feeling in his throat, while his eye moved to Ayumi. The tea had brought back some color to her face, but he could see how she shivered from time to time. It was two days ago that their supposed-to-be-dead friend crossed their path, and yet, none of them had talked about it until now. He nervously kneaded his hands in his lap and noticed the thin film of cold sweat that had formed on his palms until he looked up to his classmates. He could imagine what was going on in Ayumi's head, but their silence alone wasn´t going to help.

"What…", his voice was hoarse, so he cleared his throat and looked at the two other members of the detective boys.

"What do you think… Does Professor Agasa know something?" He thought it was a good question, close to the topic and yet not too close for comfort. Besides, it was something they had to figure out. If they wanted answers they had to know who to question.

"He always puts a candle on his grave when he's visiting Ai." Even Genta's voice sounded rough, but the cold, which had frozen each of them, seemed to vanish while they were speaking.

"Sure, but-" Ayumi swallowed and carefully looked at them. "Did you notice the way he looked at us when he opened the door? Like he knew what's bothering us?"

"That's true… but that could also be because of the case. He knows that we're working on the "Holmes-murders", so we can´t be sure."

Silence settled between them again, well - they sure didn´t come far at all.

"Should we tell him? His parents? They should know, right? After all… he can´t just vanish like that, leaving them behind to think-. He can´t be that cruel. We- we all thought that, Heiji told us-" Ayumi bit her lips, pressing her eyes shut in order to get rid of the pictures in her mind, before she shook her head. The eyes of the two male members of the group met briefly before each of them seemed to get lost in dark memories.

"Why… Why is he doing this?"

Her voice trembled and yet, there was more rage than pain and grief. Ayumi's question lingered in the air and seemed to swallow every other sound, leaving the three of them in seemly endless silence.

It was Genta's snort, who rubbed his face in thought that made them move again.

"Well at least we can´t tell anyone without having any proof, because I'm afraid that this story is rather hard to believe."

Mitsuhiko nodded thoughtfully, while his gaze was searching for support on the ground.

"Right… we should be careful after everything that happened." He bit his lips, his voice barely more than a whisper. "So, we have a case."

His friend looked up, recognizing his stern gaze, before he nodded.

"We have a case."

The slowly well-known silence sneaked underneath their skin and formed goose booms on their arms. No one really liked the thought to investigate someone who had been their friend once, and one member of the group had only twitched in response. The high-school girl stared in her cup of tea unable to look away from her reflection in the murky brown liquid. Only Mitsuhiko's cautious question made her look up.

"Ayumi?"

With a short blink, she got rid of the water in her eyes, but the blue irises still remained dull, before her gaze wandered to the floor again.

"I…" She stopped, wasn´t sure where to start. "What… what about Ran?"

She saw how both boys flinched, knew that she had caught them on the wrong foot, because they must have been thinking along the same lines as well. Their friend and their teacher had already gone through enough, more than all of them together.

His lies, his secrets and his silence had simply been too much, and had let her doubt everything she ever believed in. Now, investigating behind her back, lie to her when she was asking them what they were doing, simply keeping quiet… wasn´t right.

Ayumi swallowed, her voice didn´t shiver but grew louder with each word.

"She should know! Even if we don't have any proof yet, we've seen him, we _saw_ him! She-"

"- should not give in to false hopes, Ayumi." Mitsuhiko's words and his soft voice were enough to silence her. "As long as we don´t know what he did and why, for so long he shouldn't drag her into it."

The boys met her eyes until she nodded, but the lump in her throat wasn´t going to disappear so easily. They meant well, they didn´t want to put Ran in danger, she shouldn't worry. A short sad smile crossed her lips.

'Why does that sound familiar.'

She noticed how Genta and Mitsuhiko started to plan out things. Her gaze fell to her mobile that lay beside her, tone turned mute by now. With a suppressed sigh, she took it, turning it in her hand, only to notice her own mirror image in the dark glass that looked at her reproachfully.

XXX

It already started to dawn when the two detectives found themselves in the police department again. The formalities in the hospital had taken them longer than expected and Megure had used the chance to formally apologize to Bell one again.

Bell had just shrugged, instead thanked him that he was allowed to participate in the investigation again - as a detective of course.

Since they wanted to wait until they gathered everything for the next meeting, they had agreed to meet tomorrow and simply skip today. While the burly detective sent Takagi home to his family while he drove home to his wife himself, the two other detectives still had work to do.

When they had still been waiting in the hospital, Bell had made it clear that there was something that he would like to check. On their ride to the headquarters, Kudo simply was silent, staring out of the window, while his driver rolled his eyes.

'Why is it that I have to worm everything out of you, Kudo?'

He had been trying, really, he tried to stay calm to pull himself together, since he knew how his old friend worked. But when they finally reached his small office, which was made up for a district foreign officer, Heiji finally lost it.

"Would ya finally explain what's goin' on, Kudo? I don`t know what ya're searchin' for. We already went through each and every file- or don´t ya trust tha Japanese police any longer?"

Shinichi bit his tongue in order to prevent to answer the annoying comment of his friend, but glanced over the rim of Bell's glasses at him, before he turned back to the computer in front of him.

Hattori had logged in with his password, so that Shinichi finally had access to the police databank. He typed in what he was looking for, and went for search before he finally turned back to Heiji, answering him in an annoyed tone.

"For one thing it's Bell - William if you want to or Professor even." He grinned briefly, but Heiji's face made it clear that he could say goodbye to the thought that he would call him Professor, ever again.

"And for another, this isn´t about how thoroughly you've been searching, I am more interested in where you've been looking for information."

"Where?"

"Yes, where. That was what I wanted to point out in our last meeting before my short trip to your very special hotel. But unfortunately you interrupted me back then, Hattori-keiji."

Heiji rolled his eyes.

'Sure, just rub it in, why don't ya.'

"Anyway, I was thinking about the reaction of Aya's father, didn´t he seem kinda weird to you?" With that question he looked up at Heiji, who now put his chin in his hand, thinking out loud.

"Well… tha guy just lost his daughter, I guess everyone would be weird after that. But ya're right, he carefully guided his wife's words, if that's what ya mean."

Shinichi's grin slipped over Bell's face, causing goose bumps to cover Heiji's arms.

"Close, but no. Try to remember his reaction when he saw the picture of the first victim."

The officer leaned back, pushing himself away from the table with his hands on the top, while his gaze wandered to the ceiling. "He didn´t knew who he was… and when his wife recognized him, he suddenly seemed nervous, almost like he didn´t want us ta know that tha two had met in tha café."

Shinichi nodded, catching his glance. "That's right. I thought it was because he didn´t want to accept the fact that his daughter was the victim of a serial killer. But what he said next made me doubt that."

Heiji watched how Bell pulled his notebook form his jacket. He flicked though it before he finally found what he'd been searching for.

"For one, Moto was beating around the bush when we asked him to tell us the name of said café - he told us something that he thought to be a _foreign_ name, that he couldn´t properly read or pronounce. But when I asked him if he could mean the words "new live" with his babbling, he told us that English had never been his strength and that he never learned it in school. Now I'm asking you Hattori, how did he suddenly knew that it-"

"- was an English term."

Heiji's eyes grew big when he finished the sentence, staring at his colleagues dumbfounded, while he continued to speak slowly. "When it's true that he never learned it, why should he suddenly recognize it, it could have been French or whatever."

A smile spread on Bell's lips. "Exactly. He lied to us, the question is, why? Why doesn´t he want us to know that the two victims knew each other? A father would do everything on order to catch the murderer of his child as fast as possible. Something must bother him, so much that he would rather let the murderer escape than telling us. The only explanation to that is Aya herself. We know that she had a good education, but then she quit law school to start working on a simple grocery store."

Heiji nodded, but his voice still held a skeptical tone. "A rather abrupt change of life, that's right, but we still don´t know why. What happened between her study and her job… this gap, that's what it's all about." The officer frowned. "But what should be tha connection to the first victim, Shikata? Tha only thin' we know about him is that he was a physician and-" Hattori's eyes grew big until a knowing smile placed itself on his lips.

"Holy crap…"

Shinichi mirrored his grin. "That's one way to put it."

But the police officer didn´t let himself be distracted by his friend. "Damn, ya could be right, Kudo and if… it's no wonder that we didn´t find a connection between them until know."

"Right, because you only search there when you know exactly who the victim was, when you guess why him or her got murdered."

He turned around, both detectives were watching the monitor of the computer now that was still processing the search. Eagerly, the two waited for the percentage of the searched folders to rise. When it finally hit 100%, they held their breath, before three files suddenly opened themselves on the screen.

Heiji patted his friend's shoulder, while his lips formed the very smile that many criminals had learned to fear.

"Looks like we finally found our connection."

Shinichi nodded and looked through the three files, which displayed the names of the three victims."

'Yes, we did… in Japan's crime records.'

The two detectives worked until deep into the night, dozens of empty cups of coffee already piled on the table. But sleep was still out of question. They were too close, now that they finally found a clue, a lead that they could follow in order to finally catch the culprit, to put an end to these gruesome murders.

But not tonight.

XXX

 _She was already used to the hard bed-sheets of the hospital, knew that it was the bleach that had hardened the cotton over the years. Everything in order for the next "guest" to feel comfortable in the clean, fresh and white covers. She shuddered, but let herself sink deeper in the unloved but warm blanket, trying to push her thoughts away._

 _She listened into the night. Outside her window, Japan was already covered in darkness, but inside here it seemed brighter, the small lights like the emergency switch, the light switch along with the gap beneath the door frame put the room into a ghostly light._

 _She sighed and noticed how she still had trouble to swallow, touching the thick gauze bandages around her neck. Pictures appeared behind her eyes, the thin cord cutting into her flesh, tightened around her neck, demanding the last of her powers until everything went quiet, limp and lifeless. She suppressed a cry, pressed the hands against her eyes until she could see stars sparkling behind her eyelids._

 _Slowly, she took a deep breath, let it settle into her lungs and waited briefly before she dismissed the air form the prison again. Her breath and the officers on the hallway were her only companions this night. As uncomfortable as she felt, surrounded by illness and death, she know that she wouldn´t be able to lay in this warm covers, with the taste of tea on her tongue, if it wasn't for him._

 _Bell, who had saved her._

 _And one look into the eyes of the officers told her that they would catch him, that she would be save and nothing could happen to her. She allowed her eyes to close, which suddenly seemed heavy with fatigue. She knew that the sedative they had given to her now took its toll, which she gladly gave in to._

 _A deep, dreamless sleep covered her, a silence in which neither time nor space seemed to exist. So, she didn´t know whether it had been seconds, minutes or hours when the first nightmare hit her._

 _She was surrounded by darkness, felt how the deep black around her seemed to crush her. She couldn´t breathe. A mute scream went over her lips, followed by another and another, but none of them were heard. Lighting suddenly flashed in front of her, like she was trapped in a thunderstorm. The pressure in her lungs grew, hot tears were floating down her cheeks, while her head was throbbing to the beat of the flashes on the horizon._

 _But there was no thunder, nor had anyone heard her cries, only when she gave up screaming, everything seemed to grow quite._

 _The thought of getting air was gone, along with the lighting and the pain. Everything left was darkness that closed its arms around her in a cold embrace, before everything went silent._

* * *

 _ **Hey everyone!**_

 _ **I hope the last chapter didn´t dissapoint you? Let me now if it was the case. Anyway thanks to everyone who did review!**_

 _ **I would love to hear your thoughts as always!**_

 _ **And of course thanks to Tobina who not only finished her own new Conan fanfic, but found the time to Beta too!**_

 _ **See you all next month!**_

 _ **Shelling~**_


	19. 19 Soap and Water

**Soap and Water**

The smell of coffee was the first thing he noticed after the sleep's darkness. The Osakan swallowed, his throbbing shoulders soon reminded Heiji that he hadn´t spent the night in his comfortable hotel bed, but on the old sofa of the Police Department.

Shinichi and he had been looking through the old case data for so long that it simply hadn´t paid off to go home. But luckily the Police Headquarters offered enough possibilities for overtired officers to catch some sleep after a long night of work and observation.

Unfortunately, the mattress that had looked like a precious, soft bed the night before, revealed its true nature in the morning - an old sofa where the rusty springs cut into your flesh. But even his pained back couldn´t dim the grin on the officer's face - finally, finally they've found their lead.

'And we would have been able ta get it sooner if I just had listened ta ya.' His sleep ridden eyes suddenly grew wide.

'Kudo!' Heiji turned his sense on, smelled coffee and heard the rustling of paper. He pulled the arrangement of pillows and blankets from himself, which both of them had hoarded like squirrels yesterday, to look around in search for his friend, whom he found at the table reading a newspaper.

Well, Bell, to be exact.

The detective had noticed that his friend was rising from the dead and now looked over the rim of his glasses with a slight grin.

"Morning, Hattori."

His hand slid form the newspaper to one of the cups of coffee, pushing it towards Heiji across the table.

"Coffee?"

The officer only nodded, slipping into his shoes before he walked towards him, analyzing the brown cup of coffee with a skeptical look. That wasn´t a coffee from the department, that much was for sure.

This stuff could actually be drinkable and good enough to wash the taste of sleep from his mouth. He eyed his friend with a raised eyebrow before his eyes flew over the headlines he could see from where he stood, only to note that the newspaper must be today's.

"How long have ya been awake by now?"

Bell's eyebrows drew together before he answered with a quick look at his wrist watch.

"About one and a half hour, give or take. Thirty minutes to get to Matsuda and back, and one hour to refresh the façade." He grinned, but when Heiji's eyes still burned beneath his skin, he stopped.

"What?"

Bell's voice left chills running down his spine again. Thoughtfully, he took a close look at the Professor's face. Whoever was making these things for Kudo, knew what they were doing.

"Ya know that's scary, right?"

Shinichi rose an eyebrow, rolling his eyes before his gaze flew out of the window.

"Ya have ta admit it, Conan was still ya – only a little bit short but that?"

Bell sighed, finally putting the newspaper aside, looking into the remains of his now cold coffee. Hattori wouldn´t let it go anyway.

"What do you want to hear, Hattori? I can assure you that this wasn´t my idea." He gestured down himself, before he continued, his voice not as sharp as before. "On the other side, I wouldn´t be able to go out without this silicone pack on my face, right?"

Heiji nodded and it grew silent between them again, so that the detective turned to the newspaper again, not knowing that the matter was far from done for Hattori.

"So, it's true… they're still out there."

Heiji immediately noticed how the American stiffened beneath his words, he saw how he swallowed and deliberately avoided his eyes.

"Kudo. Tell me what ya know."

The high-schooler bit his lips, noticed how the silicon pulled on his forehead in cause of his frown. He freed himself from the grip of Hattori's eyes, avoiding his gaze.

"We should probably pack everything we need…"

He pushed himself from his seat, leaving their small night quarters, searching his way to the office, where they had left the files and notes they would need for today. Heiji heard the footsteps of his friend on the floor until another door closed behind him.

'Idiot.'

He didn´t let it go back then, nor would he now. No matter if Kudo liked it or not, he had to talk about it sooner or later, just like he did ten years ago. Heiji just had to do something he wasn´t really fond of.

'Ta wait.'

When he packed up everything, and Heiji considered to check on Kazuha, who had tried to call him for what felt hundred times, his mobile rang. The officer shot Shinichi a distressed look. An early call from Megure wasn´t a good sign. The officer took the call, and Megure on the other side of the line didn´t hesitate to tell him what had happened, causing a rather loud reaction.

"WHAT?!"

Shinichi could only watch how the face of his usual dark-skinned friend became pale, until his expression suddenly darkened. The Osakan suppressed a curse but tried to get a grip on his voice again.

"How could that happen? What about the cameras? Did ya-"

Bell noticed that Heiji swallowed, obviously interrupted in his sentence. He bit his lips and answered briefly before he hung up. "Got it, we're on the way."

Shinichi looked at his friend in silence, who was still staring at his mobile - he didn´t need to ask what exactly Hattori had just learned.

"She's dead."

Finally, Heiji tore his gaze away from his phone, horror and a little guilt written in his features, before his eyes hardened with a nod.

Shinichi took the key out of his friend's hand, pushing himself past him towards the door.

"I'll drive. Come on, before the people of the forensics are messing up everything."

The journey of the two detectives was silent. Shinichi had no trouble to find his way in the streets of Tokyo. Again, and again his eyes wavered to Heiji, but when they reached the hospital and his usual hot-tempered friend was still silent, he tried his luck.

"Hattori, you-"

"Save it, Kudo. I know." The Osakan sighed and buried his hands in his dark, uncombed hair.

"I know that it's not my fault, even if we might have been able ta prevent it if I would have listened ta Bell…, listened ta ya."

But Shinichi shook his head with a frown. "Even if you would have listened, Heiji, she'd been under police protection during the night, _no one_ should have been able to get in or out of her room."

'No one…'

XXX

The hospital seemed like a war place, people were everywhere, but once you took a closer look at the scene, it was clear that there was a structure to everything. On one side of the narrow hallway was a small group of doctors, nurses and other staff gathered around Takagi, who was questioning each of them, making notes when their shifts began and ended.

Sato was seated in a small room that was separated from the rest of the chaos by a large glass wall. One couldn´t understand what she was saying, but her tense features and her slightly ruffled hair revealed that her words for the two officers, who were put on guard in front the victim's room, weren't kind.

Megure himself was talking to the hospital director, while he always kept a watchful eye on the work of the forensics. Only when he saw the two detectives approaching him, he excused himself to enlighten Heiji.

The only calm anchor in the room was her.

If you didn´t know better you would think that it was the set for a photo shoot, looking at the sight of the officers taking picture after picture of her - of the silent model, to capture her position, until Matsudo could do his job. The doctor shared a brief nod with Bell, but Shinichi didn´t reply the greeting, his gaze was fixed on her, unaffected by what was happening around him.

Her skin had an unhealthy shine to it while her dark hair hung into her face, nearly covering it up to her pale blue lips. Overlooking all those things that seemed to cover Kikuja Mira like a shroud, it looked like she was asleep. But Shinichi only had to take a few steps towards her to recognize the violence and death in her face. Her eyes were wide open, staring at a spot only visible for her. The bandage which had been white the previous day, now held a fine red line that revealed how little material had been needed to obliterate her life.

Shinichi swallowed, his gaze wandered through the room, before he finally joined Heiji, who was carefully listening to Megure.

"Each night-nurse was inspected by our men, they looked after Kikuja-san around 1pm and again around 6 in the morning. It's supposed to be the usual routine in such a case, since her injuries weren't life-threatening."

Heiji nodded, but it seemed that his next question was the last Megure wanted to answer. "How did the guy get past your officer? I suppose that there was a guard in front of her door for the whole evening and night?"

Megure nodded, pulling his hat a little deeper into his face with a grumble, while his eyes wandered to the room where Sato was questioning the two officers.

"That's right. As a matter of fact, there has been a change of guards around three pm. The guy from the morning shift is currently with Sato, while the other one is on his way here, so we can get his statement."

"When exactly was the murder discovered?" Bell's sudden interruption baffled the old officer for a second, he looked at the American for a while until he once again became aware of the fact that the man was on their side.

"Like I just told Hattori-keiji, the body was found around 7:30 am." Megure sighed, his gaze went back to Takagi who was still questioning the hospital staff.

"It was time for her medical check. The previous times I told you about, they only peeked into the room, no one thought further when they found her laying quietly in her bed."

The Professor nodded. "So, she might have already been dead when they looked into her room?"

The police officer shook his head, heading towards the small room, where Matsudo was starting his work after one of the forensics remembered him to wear some gloves. Megure only shook his head, rolling his eyes, age got to some people earlier than others.

"Maybe. However, I hope that Matsudo-kun is able to enlighten us in that matter, though, an approximate time of death would be enough for now."

The doctor had noticed that Megure was talking _to_ him and not only about him in the end.

"You better don´t rush me, my friend. If my estimation is wrong and I have to correct myself later, you won´t like that either." The pathologist tried to get a rough overview and made it clear that it was hard to tell if the traces of a fight were from tonight or the previous attack.

Shinichi observed the physician and quickly realized what he was looking for. Matsudo tested the jaw and neck of the victim, before he turned to the joints of her arms and legs. With the help of two officers, he turned her on her stomach, looking at the livor mortis covering her whole back. Bell's eyes followed Matsudo's to the hematoma-like patterns, which had a slight violet color, however some of them had already merged into one surface, which told him that she has been dead for more than two hours. Their reddish color also added to that, because only when the rest of the oxygen was completely gone from the blood, they would gain their intense blue color. The pathologist sighed, stretching his gloved fingers away from him, careful not to touch anything, like he was standing in an operation room rather than inspecting a corpse.

"Her jaw and neck are already stiff, along with the livor mortis, I would say that she's been dead for four, maybe five hours. I will be able to be more precise about it once I'm able to exam her further."

The three investigators only nodded and left the physician to continue his work, while they retreated to a small corner of the hall to continue.

"The time fits," Megure nodded, massaging his temples while his gaze wavered to Sato again, who was now questioning the second officer as well.

"True, but I guess we have to wait for Sato to tell us what happened during the night. The guy from the last night shift told us, that the shift changeover passed smoothly, without any incidents, right in front of the patient's room. So, how was this ass able to get a hold of her?"

Bell sighed softly, burying his hands deep into the pockets of his pants, catching up with the conversation again. "Fact is, he did. And not only that, but the murderer must also have known the location of Kikuja-san. I believe that is where, am I right Megure-keishi?"

"Yeah, we thought so too. That's why I asked Takagi to probe the staff who was responsible for her." His eyebrows drew together, causing a deep wrinkle between them. The two detectives exchanged a brief glance, before Bell nodded to the Osakan, who cleared his throat to gain the officer's attention.

"So, until we get tha results from tha interrogations and tha pathology, we can do nothin' but wait:"

Megure raised an eyebrow. Heiji's tone revealed that there was more to his sentence.

"If we can't solve how he managed ta kill a third time, we might as well focus on preventin' any further murder."

"Care to tell me how, Hattori-kun? It's not like we haven't done exactly that during the last week."

"That's true… but we weren´t able ta tell wo's going ta be tha next victim back then."

"You see, that's why – wait, what!?" Megure looked up in surprise, asking himself how those two managed to baffle him again and again.

"Bell… I mean, tha Professor and I finally found a connection between tha victims. They have been right before our very noses, we just weren´t able ta see them."

"How? What do you mean, Hattori-kun?"

The Osakan rubbed the back of his neck, his eyes switched to his colleague from Amerika while he explained himself. "Actually, it was Bell who discovered tha connection. It was a comment Aya's father dropped back at our visit. It seemed like he was embarrassed by tha past of his daughter. Therefore, we believed that there was something about it that we weren't supposed ta know, something very essential."

Bell nodded slowly, his voice was serious when he continued the narration. "They are murderers. Our victims - each of them was a culprit him or herself."

Megure's eyebrows disappeared underneath his hat. "You serious?"

"Each of our victims got a file in our database and there are quite a few similarities between them. The circumstances of each murder were so difficult that the court only send them to prison, for a few years. This evidence aside, there are two things that could be of importance to our case. Each of our victims died the same way they used to kill in their own cases years ago."

Megure nodded absently, and thoughtfully tugged at his beard while he spoke.

"That means that our culprit informed himself in the newspaper over the years, or-"

"He had insight into our files," Heiji conformed, grim.

"But that's not all." Shinichi swallowed, and noticed how hoarse Bell's voice suddenly sounded. "The biggest connection between our murders today and back then are the former victims…"

Megure waited for Bell to continue while Heiji now noticed for the first time how it looked like when Shinichi grew pale behind the fake skin, only his pale lips and his shivering voice betrayed what was going through his mind. The Osakan swallowed, they hadn´t talked about it yesterday, but he knew that he didn´t like the way the case seemed to develop.

"All of them were of similar age, all about 20 years old." Bell finally had found his voice again.

"Women. All of them red-haired."

"Natural red-haired, what is rare here in Japan, so we thought that would help us to narrow down our next victim, and the culprit along with it." Heiji had hooked himself in the explanation again, talking too much and too quick, but it took some time before Megure's gaze wandered from Bell back to his colleague from Osaka, while he listened and nodded finally.

"Indeed… that can be helpful, but what about the café? Was the connection we found there just a mere coincidence?"

"No, not quite. We put some research into it while we were searching for more information about Kikuja-san herself. It wasn´t easy to find, since she doesn´t like to talk about it, but Kikuja-san's intention in opening the café was more than just the need to earn money. Many people have problems to integrate themselves back into society after some time in prison, especially because society itself makes it hard for them. She had similar trouble when she was released at first, but at the same time, she wanted to help people who shared the same fate. The café was her way to archive that. 'New live' was supposed to be a new start for everyone who might need it. A place where no one would judge you and where you're not alone with your problems. I guess Kikuja-san didn´t share this information with us in order to protect her guests."

"Great… that means we have to go through what - a few thousand files? That's a bunch of work." The officer sighed, he already knew that would mean a lot of paperwork for the team and himself.

"Uh- excuse me, Megure-keishi-"

But Megure just ignored the forensic who tried to get his attention, interrupting their conversation.

"At least we can try to ignore the cases that didn´t got into the media, if not we might have to-"

"Megure-keishi, I really think that you should take a look at this."

"- assume that the murderer has insight into our database. I don´t even want to think about it!"

"Excuse me, but-"

"Yes, what the heck do you want, Hirata! Can´t you see that I'm busy?!"

The lanky officer flinched beneath his tone, but quickly found his voice again.

"I'm really sorry, Megure-keishi, but you told us to report to you the second we find _it_."

"What?" Megure's eyes grew wide. The officer hesitated briefly, before he handed him a little plastic back that held a paper - no bigger than an average business card.

"We just found it beside the bed. We haven't seen it before, so it probably fell down when we moved the blanked from the body." Megure stared at the slim piece of paper in his hand before his eyes darkened. With a grumpy snort, he held it up, right under Bell's nose.

"You should probably have a look at this, Professor."

Shinichi nodded, taking the card from his hands and started to read along with Heiji, who was looking over his shoulder to get a better view.

' _ **However strange things might be, they always come to an end. I must apologize, that my deeds now force you to solve another riddle, my dear officers. Nevertheless, it should be said that the key to your new problem is to be found in each bathroom. Unlike me, you don´t have to open a sealed door, to reach your target.**_

 _ **I wish you a good hunt!**_

 _ **Sincerely,**_

 _ **Sherlock Holmes'**_

Shinichi's eyes flew across the lines, once again he could feel how the few words cut the air from his lungs.

'No… he can´t!'

Goosebumps sneaked their way underneath his shirt, a shiver ran down his back when he read the message again.

'What is this? What does he think he's doing?'

But Shinichi's thoughts got interrupted by Megure, who had seen Bell's surprised face and was now waiting for a full translation or at least an explanation from the expert.

"So? Any ideas, Professor?"

Bell looked up, startled. It took some time until he was able to calm himself enough to get rid of the shiver in his voice. "W-What? I- no, no I fear this one is going to take a little longer."

The officer nodded slowly. "Alright." He looked around and sighed when he got aware of the chaos that still reigned the place. "It will take a while until they guys are done here. Maybe we'll find something else. Heiji, I need you to help Bell with the code and the data he might need. I also need your report, so that we can enlighten the others about the current state of the case."

Heiji nodded, took the plastic bag from Bell's shivering fingers, who had just finished writing down the code into his note-book and gave it back to Megure.

"Consider it done, Megure-keishi. Please keep us posted if ya find anythin' else."

Megure nodded and watched as Heiji urged Bell out of the door, before he raised his voice again. "Oh, and Hattori-kun. Next time you find something like that I want to know about it immediately, no matter the time." His gaze lingered on the two detectives. "Sometimes it's better to put the cards on the table right away, understood?"

Heiji noticed how his mouth went dry, then nodded.

"Got it, Megure-keishi."

XXX

When they finally reached the hospital's exit, warm sunshine greeted them from above, what one would not have expected inside the dark building. The two detectives couldn´t care less about the weather right now. Although they had taken the backdoor, they still could hear the chatter of voices form the onlookers and reporters, which were waiting for them just around the corner.

Heiji just cursed.

How the hack had these vultures got informed so quickly again?

They had no other choice than to take the path through the small park, arranged around the hospital. The Osakan inhaled long and deep, trying to get rid of the hospital smell, which still lingered in his nose. His companion peered over the rims of his glasses, and still pondered over the message, while they went through the park.

"Oi, Kudo, spill it. What's wrong?"

Shinichi just winced at the name, but Hattori only rolled his eyes before Kudo finally explained what was going on with a sigh.

"Nothing new, honestly. Beside the fact that I'm a little shocked at the rather direct way of 'Holmes'."

Hattori had slowed down, looking at his friend in anticipation.

"He saw me - Holmes I mean."

"So what?"

Bell blinked briefly. "I haven't told you about it, right? The murderer has seen _me_. Not Bell." Shinichi could literally hear the penny dropping in his friend's head.

"WHAT?!"

He swallowed, putting a smile on his lips while he awkwardly rubbed his neck. "I thought I've told you about it-. On the other hand, you could have figured it out yourself, Hattori. Why else do you think I've lost a piece of Bell's face, leaving it for you to find on the pavement. I didn´t strip down for our killer voluntary."

The officer nodded, his gaze lingered on the path they took. "So, what now?"

"Easy, he's calling the police's attention to it." Bell sighed and settled down on one of the park benches while Heiji remained standing, so that Shinichi had to look up.

"The additional case the police are now forced to solve is my own. That's why the key to the problem can be found in the bathroom." The Holmes expert couldn´t suppress a dry laugh, combing through the dark blond hair with his fingers. But he seemed to be the only one who found amusement in his cryptic words.

"Would ya please explain yarself, man?"

"Holmes had a case to solve."

Both of them were startled by the strange voice, and now looked at the man who had appeared silently in front of them, before he took a step towards them with a friendly smile on his lips.

"It was about a man who went missing, so that his wife hired Holmes to search for him. A local beggar, whose trademark was an ugly scar on his face, was accused to have killed said husband. After a long back and forth, Holmes succeeded in solving the crime. The key, he told Watson, was to be found in the bathroom."

Hattori uttered a silent curse when he saw Hondo Eisuke coming towards them. It was obvious that he had at least heard the last bit of their conversation. He had already forgotten about this guy. The detective of the west groaned - it was him who had put Hondo on Bell's tracks to begin with.

"Both of them went to jail, and Holmes took a sponge with soap and water to properly wash the man's face. It turned out that under the ugly and dirty mask the missing husband had been hiding, who had left his job to become a beggar, because he was earning much more money this way."

Eisuke's eyes rested on Bell, much too long for Shinichi's taste, but he decided to play along. He mirrored the smile and stood up to hold out a hand for the CIA agent to shake while he spoke. "The man with the twisted lip. Good morning, Hondo-san. I guess I don´t have to remind you that you have to treat these information confidentially, right?"

Hondo smiled briefly. "Of course, Professor."

No one asked what the CIA-agent was doing here or how much he had actually heard while they wandered through the park, talking about the case since another opinion wouldn't hurt. Only when they had already crossed half the distance, Eisuke decided to give their conversation a different turn.

"Ah, by the way, Hattori-kun. Thank you for accompanying Ran-san to me, I'm glad that she wasn´t alone while a killer is running around in Tokyo. Even though I know that she's capable of defending herself - one never knows."

Heiji swallowed but urged a nervous smile upon his lips. "Don´t mention it. Say, what did ya want from her anyway? Neechan said that ya had somethin' important ta tell her."

While Eisuke's face gained a purple touch, Shinichi would have loved to facepalm. Hattori had no clue how to deal with such things.

"T-that's true…" Hondo's voice that had shivered in the beginning, grew stronger and more resolute while he spoke. "I have to admit that things didn´t work the way I wanted them to, but next time I will not hesitate."

"Huh? What are ya talking about?"

Eisuke's cheeks stayed red, but his gaze grew serious. "To be honest, I didn´t want to tell you about it with everything that happened back then. I doubt that you're going to be too keen Hattori-kun, but-" He swallowed again.

"I want to tell Ran-san that I love her."

"WHAT?!"

The Osakan stared at the agent, had to keep himself from looking to his friend at the same moment. He had no doubt that Kudo was making plans to murder the guy before him right now. But when he finally allowed himself to move his gaze to the American, his face seemed as calm as usual.

Only when Eisuke continued to explain himself, he could see how Kudo swallowed, hiding his shivering hands in his pockets, before he balled them into useless fists.

"I had a crush on her on first sight! I've never met someone that pretty and nice. Unlike Kudo-kun, I won´t leave Ran-san alone! My wish is to bring her to America with me and make her happy."

Heiji just blinked, looking at Hondo puzzled.

"I-is that so?"

"You bet!"

The agent grinned at them, and while Heiji still stared back, a small smile formed itself on Bell's lips. But even the by now well-trained actor, couldn´t prevent that this voice sounded hoarse when he spoke.

"If that's the case, Hondo-kun, I guess it's time to wish you all the best, as well as on Hattori-keiji's behalf."

Hattori turned to him, baffled, but Shinichi held his gaze. "We should be off now, Hattori-kun. We still got work to do." With that Bell bowed briefly to say goodbye and turned around to leave the agent alone. Heiji followed him after a short hesitation.

Shinichi tried to focus on his steps alone, as if these monotonous movements could help him to keep his autopilot going, before his brain could catch up with the fact that his reality just fell apart. He could feel Heiji's eyes on the back of his head, but before the officer was close enough to say anything, Hondo's voice startled him again.

"So, that's it?"

Shinichi turned around, didn´t even bother to look quizzically, but just stared at the agent. It wouldn't have taken the same words than 10 years ago. Shinichi had already noticed that Hondo knew who he was.

"You give up?"

The voice of the agent sounded strange and hollow. "You promised me something back then. That you would make her happy." Eisuke swallowed, he could feel how a lump grew in his throat. He would love to be the one to fulfill these criteria for Ran, but he couldn´t.

It took some time until the supposed American moved again. When he finally found his voice, his words were hard to understand, and forced between his lips. "Maybe that's exactly what I'm trying to do."

"Nonsense!"

The agent cut through the air with his flat hand in an angry gesture. "Your chances had been worse back then and yet you didn´t allow me to tell Ran-san how I felt, that sure you've been about it." He made another step towards Shinichi, but he still didn´t respond.

"And now that you're not just reaching up to her knee, you want to run away like nothing happened. This might work for you Kudo-kun but not for her, not for Ran-san!"

"Hondo." Heiji, who had been a mute witness until now, wanted to intervene, but Eisuke shook his head sharply.

"Are you just dumb or just too blind too see it? She fell in love with Bell. With you. Again! Believe me, I would love if it wouldn't be the case, but for her it can only be you Kudo-kun, no matter the mask you hide behind."

"Do you think I don´t know that?"

For the first time during their conversation it was clearly Shinichi who spoke, even Bell's voice couldn´t hide him any longer. His blue eyes darted back and forth behind Bell's, glasses, searching for a calm spot in this world. But his voice held not only anger but also a deep revulsion against himself.

Disgust against his very existence right now.

"Damn, do you know what you're asking of me? Yes, Hattori, you aren't any better, or do you think that I don't know that you can barely hold your tongue sometimes! It's a wonder that you didn´t choke yourself till now!" He laughed humorless, biting his lips while his gaze shifted to the side.

"You know that's not going to work. I can't put her in danger with the Organization still around." Shinichi swallowed, and felt how the trembling from his hands slowly overtook his whole body.

"Maybe I can't make her happy… but at least I can make sure she's safe. Alive." The detective gasped, leaning his head back to stare into the too bright sky above Tokyo.

"Honestly, I don´t know what to do…"

'Jezz, I wish it were that easy. Ran… why can´t you just forget about me? Why can´t you find someone else who makes you happy?' He sighed deeply and recognized how the lump in his throat made Bell's voice hoarse.

"I just don´t know."

His friends could only stare at him. While Heiji knew how much Kudo was tormenting himself, Hondo was speechless by the reaction of the usual so cool detective. Honestly, he'd never known Kudo that well. If anything, he had known Conan, the confident primary schooler who told him that he wasn´t about to give Ran up so easily.

Eisuke gluped and sighed softly.

'Well, now you've got her, Kudo…'

The long silence was cut by Shinichi's sigh. He pushed Bell's glasses back on his nose with trembling fingers, a lopsided grin grew on his lips.

"So, what gave me away this time?" He fiddled with his shirt, shaking invisible dust from his sleeves. "Honestly, I thought that I did a rather good job this time."

The agent blinked briefly, sharing an unsure glance with Hattori, who seemed to be as surprised by the sudden change of subject, but just rolled his eyes with a sad smile. It was obvious that Kudo didn´t want to talk about it any further, and no one would get him to lose another word about it.

"That's true- but the real trigger was someone else." He swallowed, tugging at the collar of his shirt before his eyes searched Shinichi again.

"I spoke to Ran-san about you- Bell and… well let's say I wasn´t prepared for her reaction." Eisuke barked a hollow laugh. If the situation were any different, he would rub in how lucky Shinichi was, that this woman could only fall in love with him.

"So, you suspected that it's me?"

Hondo just nodded, hiding his hands deep inside his pockets. "Yeah, but since it should have been impossible by what I knew, I did some research about Bell. I have to say that my colleagues really made a good job. You're with the FBI, right?"

Shinichi bit his lips but nodded.

"Thought so. Well they built up an amazing past for you. Schools, university, events, jobs – everything is there. So, nothing seemed strange at first, but when I called the university where Bell should have studied, they did have a file about you, but no one could remember you in person. Same with each other random call I made."

Shinichi listened anxiously, biting his lips. He didn´t like to hear how transparent his life and secret seemed to be. But Hondo didn´t seemed to notice his discomfort.

"So far so good, it was clear that William Bell doesn´t exist. So, it was Kudo Shinichi's turn." His gaze fell back to Shinichi. Bell's calm face might be able to protect him, but his sudden stiff steps and his tense features betrayed him.

"You didn´t know."

Silence.

No answer was an answer, too.

The CIA agent sighed heavily. He knew the rules of this agency well enough, since the CIA was working in a similar way.

"I know it must be hard to accept, Kudo, but you should know that your 'death' has been the only way to protect you and everyone else for so long. And believe me, it took me some time to get behind it."

"What do ya mean!? Ya're talkin' like there's a way ta figure it out!"

Shinichi couldn´t help, but stare at Heiji in surprise, but the anger-filled eyes of the Osakan made him realize what he apparently had forgotten. Hattori had believed that he had died in the fire back then, and the eagerness in his voice told him that he has had some doubts about it.

'Hattori?'

But Heiji didn´t look at them any longer, his eyes were glued to the ground, while his brain seemed to buzz. He had turned each and every stone around back then to prove that the corps they had found wasn´t Kudo- wasn´t Conan.

What had he missed?

"Don´t torture yourself, Hattori-kun."

"Huh?"

Eisuke's voice had ripped him from his thoughts, a bitter smile grew visible on the agent's lips. "I know about your efforts and believe me, you never would have been able to get evidence that could have told you that it wasn´t Kudo. The FBI is very thorough in those things."

Bell snorted in annoyance, guiding the eyes of both of them to him.

"Would someone of you fill me in, _please_? After all it's me you're talking about."

Hondo nodded. "It's true that the files of the police as well as the DNA-evidence prove that Edogawa Conan died in that fire ten years ago."

"But how-"

"A fake, also from your FBI-friends, I guess," Eisuke interrupted himself to answer Heiji's question. "It isn´t visible in the police files of the case, and even the files of the FBI and CIA aren't looking any different, beside a small detail.

The temperature.

Normally, it isn´t too difficult to ensure DNA material in a burned body, even if there are no teeth left to analyze, the marrow of the long bones is still intact to use it for a DNA sample. It only gets complicated if the temperature rises over 1500°C or 2732°F, which has been even higher back then, according to our data of the case." Hondo sighed.

"Even if Heiji would have demanded another test, the bones of the body they found would not be able to give a proper result." His gaze wandered from Bell to Heiji, who had become paler with each word he said.

"You probably would have listened to the Lab, which would have told you that the FBI might have better material or devices. The temperatures were much higher than what they use in modern crematories. I guess the fact that the heat wasn't evenly distributed was the reason we found a body at all."

Shinichi could feel a cold shiver running down his spine. He didn´t have to look at Heiji to know that things had happened the way Eisuke suggested. The officer bit his lips, trying to get rid of the pictures of Kudo's burned crops.

"Hattori?"

He winced but realized the concern in Bell's voice.

"Ya own us an explanation, Kudo."

Shinichi swallowed due to the bitterness in Heiji's voice before he nodded slowly. But Eisuke's words quickly ripped them from their silence.

"That's true. I would like to know what happed back then as well, but I fear there is something else you have to take care of first."

The two detectives looked at him in surprise, waiting for the CIA agent to continue, who was fiddling with his mobile phone, before he held the display in front their noses.

"What?!"

The small screen showed the newsletter of a Japanese newspaper that already reported the murder of Kikuja Mira, along with Holmes' message they just found.

Heiji gulped and drove a hand to his hair with a groan. "So that's why they are all gathered before tha hospital."

Hondo just nodded, his eyes fell on Bell, who was silent for a while before he spoke, even if Eisuke thought that he was hiding his true thoughts from them.

"May I?"

Eisuke handed him the phone and Shinichi quickly found what he was searching for, nodding to Heiji. "The same." He showed the display to them again. He zoomed in on the name of the reporter, who had written the article.

"The same guy who had written about the murders before." The detectives grew silent, pondering about what they just learned, before Heiji sighed.

"Either the guy has been at the crime scene before we arrived, or he's involved in the murders."

Shinichi nodded, straitening Bell's glasses on his nose. "Actually, there's another possibility." Bell's gaze landed on the agent, who withstood the blue eyes of the criminalistic professor.

"The CIA isn´t really famous for giving away vacation days, nor is the FBI. The reason why you're here probably is to stay in contact with your sister - who else would be better suited for that. But that would also mean that _they_ are active again." Bell swallowed.

"Spill it Hondo, what's going on?"

Goosebumps crawled down the agent's skin. For a second, it had been Kudo Shinichi's face that appeared behind the mask. It took him a second before an almost apologizing smile crept onto his lips.

"You know how it works, Kudo. I'm not entitled to tell you anything. However, what I can tell you is that we don´t know anything for sure right now. They have grown careful since you and the FBI managed to bust some of these crows."

The high schooler behind the mask pressed his lips together but listened closely.

"I can only hope that you're going to finish the case as soon as possible." Eisuke turned to leave, before he faced Shinichi one last time. "Oh, by the way, I guess that my colleagues from the FBI are going to catch up soon. I doubt that they have something against a nice chase, but I believe that even they don´t want to lose their bait."

* * *

 ** _Hey everyone!_**

 ** _I hope you had fund with the chapter._**

 ** _I apologize for any mistakes, my poor little Beta Tobina worked on it despite being sick- so please don´t be too hard – by the way, get well soon sweetie! Since I've got a lot going on at work right now, the next chapter might come out a little late- so be warned. But at the same time we are going to have much more Ran-time in the coming chapter ^.~_**

 ** _Thanks for your great feedback last time!_**

 ** _I wish you a nice day and of cause I would love to hear your thoughts about this chapter too._**

 ** _Till next time,_**

 ** _Shelling_**


	20. 20 Rendevouz

18\. Rendezvous

The ride in the silver van was completely silent.

There wasn´t much to say anyway, so that most was left unspoken between them.

Shinichi's gaze fell to Heiji, who sat mute and tense beside him. At least he didn´t demand answers from him right on the spot. Instead they had decided to drive back to the headquarters in order to investigate further and write down the report Megure had asked for. A heavy sigh moved through his lungs, Shinichi couldn´t deny that he was glad that Heiji didn´t try to squeeze the truth out of him. The thought alone that he had to tell his story at some point, made him nauseous.

Only when they finally reached the parking lot of the Police Department, the officer came back to live. A bold step on the brake flung both, driver and passenger, forward with a sharp jerk.

"Damn it, Hattori! What-?"

But the face of the police officer had lost every trace of color, the corner of his mouth started to twitch dangerously while his eyes seemed to be fixed on a certain point in the distance. Shinichi tried to follow his friend's gaze, but he could only make out some unrecognizable persons in front the entrance.

"Hattori, what is it?"

But Heiji still wouldn´t answer him, instead he started to search for his phone in his pocket, pushing the power button in order to activate the display, but this damn thing stayed as dark as the night.

The Osakan could feel panic settling beneath his skin.

'I'm dead. Absolutely, seriously dead.'

Shinichi who had watched the whole drama in wonder, now looked at his friend in surprise and slightly worried, while Heiji took the next best parking lot.

"Would you please enlighten me, Hattori? What the-" but before he could finish his question, Heiji had pulled the key and literally jumped off his seat.

"I'll go ahead," was the last thing he heard from him.

Shinichi just sighed, pushed himself from his seat and closed the door behind him with a frown.

"Has to be important for you to forget to lock the car." He had a vague idea what might have startled his friend. Heiji would have told him if it was about the case or the organization, so that only left one possibility…

"Really!?"

The high schooler behind the mask twitched, he immediately recognized the voice when he got closer to the small group of people.

"Then what am I supposed ta think, Heiji?! While ya're about ta burst with jealousy at each little thing, you expect me ta stay calm and wait for ya ta come home after ya neither called nor showed up for tha past TWO DAYS?!"

Shinichi couldn´t help but smile while he watched how the officer winced beneath Kazuha's shouts.

Her cheeks were red, and her ponytail got a little loose due to her agitation, while her hands lay on her hips. But Kazuha neither cared about her appearance nor the effect of her behavior on the American. While Heiji gasped for air to strike back, Shinichi's gaze fell from the quarreling couple to the woman at Kazuha's side.

Ran was wearing her hair open today, her jeans jacket showed the white blouse she was wearing beneath it. She greeted him with a smile, which he mirrored with one himself. But her expression soon faded form her lips, her eyes grew serious and held a question that he understood without that she needed to voice it.

'Is it true… that she's dead?'

Bell sighed deeply, averting his gaze for a second before he searched her eyes again, nodding carefully.

'Yeah…'

Ran swallowed and bit her lips.

Shinichi wanted to catch her glance again, but she avoided his gaze, rubbing her forearm in discomfort, it took some time before she was able to look at him again. Beside the pain and blame he pushed on himself a soft smile flickered over his lips, immediately reaching the depths of her heart. His whole appearance seemed to assure that she had nothing to worry about, that everything would be alright again and that they would get the murderer - no matter what.

However, the silent conversation between them was cut off when Heiji's roaring voice cut through the air, drawing their attention back to him.

"Ya know damn well that I've got two phones, one for my job and tha other for private matters. Just because ya can't reach me on one of them doesn´t mean that-"

But Kazuha cut him off, rolling her eyes in annoyance before she fixed her gaze on Heiji again.

"Yeah right, ya're jumpin' out of bed for a case, but when yar wife tries ta reach ya, ya just ignore it."

"Listen Kazuha, ya know that's not true. I had other things on my mind than thinkin' about what kind of movie ya're watchin' in our hotel right now."

Shinichi flinched.

'Wrong answer, Hattori.'

"Say what? Are ya nut's!?"

But Hattori seemed to simply ignore the angry hiss of his wife, not being aware how thin the ice was he was walking on.

"What! It's true! While ya're believin' this ta be a neat little vacation in Tokyo, I'm actually here for work and ya know that! Who begged ta tag along, huh?"

"I thought I would do ya a favor, Hattori Heiji. Beside, I hoped that ya would show yarself in the evening at least and not dancin' around I don´t know where!" Kazuha took a step towards him and was dangerously close now, standing on the tip of her toes in order to look him in the eyes.

"So, where have ya been anyway?"

For the first time her voice grew silent, calm and threatening, so that Heiji felt sweat dripping from his temple.

"I've told ya that multiple times already. Me and K- my colleague Bell have spent tha nights working."

Kazuha's eyes narrowed to slits, her pupils hard to see.

"Well, well - and it took ya two nights ta do so, huh?"

Only when a grin twitched on Shinichi's lips while he thought about stepping in to help his friend, he noticed a tug on his trouser leg. He guided his puzzled gaze down, but his surprise on his face soon changed into a smile when he bent down towards the little something that had called his attention.

Out of a mob of dark hair, which were pointing towards every direction, two turquoise blue eyes looked at him. Their curious spark was probably even brighter due his dark skin.

"Huh, and you are?"

But instead of answering, the little boy only mirrored his smile with an even wider grin. A toy car peered out from the breast pocket of his overall, the mud on the car's wheels and the boy's green striped sweater proved that it had been in action, despite the rain of the last few days.

The boy finally let go of his pants and was now surveying the detective from top to bottom. Shinichi could feel a shiver running down his spine, he felt that he knew the gaze from somewhere, but a big question mark soon displayed in the boy's eyes.

"Are ya playin' dress up, Ojisan?" He asked while putting his head to the side like a curious puppy.

"That's one of my favorite games too! But 'Kaasan gets mad when I wear Tousan's old uniform." The boy huffed. "She's told me that she can´t keep up with two of us - or something like that."

Bell took a sharp breath while the boy was still rambling. He felt his stomach turn at the sudden question. For a brief moment, he inspected the little boy a bit closer. Three, or maybe four years old, but the remains of his breakfast in the corner of his mouth and the big sparkling eyes full of excitement didn´t leave any space for doubts, the boy was a normal little kid. But somehow… somehow he'd been able to draw this conclusion, even without fully understanding it himself.

'Oh, come on Kudo! You're growing paranoid, that's all.'

It was probably just his foreign appearance, which led the boy towards such conclusions. A bitter smile flickered briefly over Bell's face, before he turned back to the little child.

The boy had pursed his lips, crossing the arms in front his chest still babbling, without that Shinichi had the chance to interrupt.

"She say's it's better not ta tempt fate. But I don´t understand, I can simply explain it ta this fate lady. I'm sure she wouldn´t mind. And Tousan's always happy when I look like him. Say, do ya know this lady, Ojisan?"

Shinichi blinked, adjusting Bell's glasses, which had slid a little down in surprise.

'Yeah, definitely a normal child.' He shook his head with a sorrowful smile.

"No, I'm sorry I fear I don´t."

'Honestly I would like to sort out a few things with her myself."

"Mhm… too bad. But we still can play something else, Ojisan! I've got my car, or we can play hide and seek or tag or…" While the boy's grin grew with every play he listed, Shinichi started to look around in wonder.

'I wonder who the brat belongs to.'

But he could neither spot a worried mother, nor a father who was calling his son`s name in a desperate voice.

'What kind of parents let their kid on the loose in front of a Police Department?'

While he wondered what he should do with the little fellow, the kid had continued to count what kind of game they could possibly play, his cheeks glowing red in with excitement.

But Shinichi just grinned.

'Seems like someone had too much sugar for breakfast.'

"… I would say we can play hide and seek. I like that. Tousan showed me how ta count ta ten, I can show you! Oooone, two, three…"

Bell laughed, shaking his head.

"Don´t bother, I already believe you. But - before we start playing, why don´t you tell me your name, kid?"

'Maybe that'll help me to find out where you belong to - even though you don't look lost at all.'

The child looked at him, puzzled.

How did he forget something like that!

"Sure! My name is Hattori, Hattori Haiku. And you? What's your name, Ojisan?"

But Shinichi couldn´t stop himself from staring at the little boy, he could feel how a lump was forming in his throat, so that his voice wasn´t more than a hoarse squawk.

"Hattori…"

The child stared at him with big eyes, didn´t understand if he just asked a question or why the grown up was repeating what he just said. It didn´t matter anyway, as long as he would start to play with him already.

But neither Shinichi nor the boy had the chance to react, before two arms lifted the child form Bell's view.

"Hattori Haikuro! How many times have I told ya not ta talk ta strangers!" While Kazuha picked him up, telling him – not for the first time apparently – how dangerous his behavior could be, Shinichi couldn´t stop staring at the boy.

The dark complexion of his father, the turquoise blue eyes of his mother finally clicked into place, taking the detective's breath away.

This was Hattori's son.

Heiji's and Kazuha's child.

Hattori Haikuro.

He took a shaking breath, closing his eyes to shut the world out for a moment.

While he had been working inside his little ivory tower in New York in order to hide himself from the world and his fate inside it, the earth hadn´t stopped turning here in Japan.

Just the opposite.

"So… ya're William Bell?"

"What?" Shinichi blinked, shaking his head in order to clear his thoughts from his daydream, only to face the same turquoise-blue eyes, except that these where owned by Kazuha, who looked at him in awe rather than anger.

"Y-Yes, indeed, I am." He swallowed and reminded himself to greet her properly since he wasn´t supposed to know her.

"You must be Hattori-san, I presume?"

She blushed slightly, not taking notice of her son who had started to play with his mom's hair.

"I- I guess that was hard ta miss."

XXX

While Bell settled the dispute with Kazuha, Heiji noticed how the lump in his throat started to grow. The sight of Bell with his little son had been enough for his heart to sink in his boots. Even now, he struggled to recover from the shock. It was all the more incredible that Kudo could still behave like the nice foreigner after Shinichi had just witnessed what he should have told him long ago.

That he had a three-year-old son.

How could he forget something like that? Alright, they had lots of stress with the case, and Kudo coming back to life wasn´t something that was easy to get used to - but still.

Had it really just been that or was the truth that he didn´t _want_ to tell him.

Because he suddenly got aware of what Shinichi had missed, how little he could participate in the world surround him, even now when everyone he once knew was around him, he was still sitting in the small glass cage, which he carried around with him each and every day.

He'd missed so much.

His gaze wandered back to Kazuha, he wouldn´t want to miss her for anything in the world, no matter how annoying she could be.

And Haikuro…

The thought alone not to be able to hold his son was enough to cause a cold shiver running down his spine. Heiji swallowed, that had to be quite a punch for Kudo. For a second, the image of the high schooler behind the mask, who struggled to keep a smile on his lips, appeared before him. Because the man he should be did not exist, never had until now, and after what happed ten years ago the chances to ever get to know this man where quite slim.

XXX

"So, it's true what my rotten thin' of a husband told me."

"I guess I have to confirm that, even though I fear that that's also my fault. But I'll try to deliver him to you in time from now on."

Kazuha just sighed and rolled her eyes before she tugged a strand of hair behind her ear.

"It would already be enough if he would care ta pick up his phone next time. I already gave up tha idea that he would come up with tha idea ta call me by himself."

"Oi oi, now ya're goin' way overboard! And sorry if I got somethin' important like a serial killer ta catch right now."

"More important than yar own family!"

"Ye-I mean no! Urg- damn it, that's why I'm doin' it after all! I want ta catch this swine before anyone else gets hurt." The detective swallowed, turning his gaze down.

"I just want ya and Haikuro ta be safe, that's all…"

The angry blush on her cheeks turned soft by the slightly rough voice of her husband. She took a step towards him, brushing her hand through his hair, so that he looked up to her again.

"I know." She smiled, leaving her hand on his cheek, while Haiku was looking at them with big eyes. "But that's why ya should understand that I'm worried for ya as well. So, promise me that ya at least try ta message or call me. Promise me." T

Heiji sighed, nodded, and then a grin started to spread over his lips.

"Alright Haiku, what do ya think - yar dad can do that? Huh? Can we two manage not ta get yar mum angry enough ta turn inta a fire-spitting monster?" And with a fearsome growl he made his son escape from the hands of his mother with a joyful squeal, but the chase was soon over when two strong hands grabbed him from behind to haul him in the air. While her two boys were joking around, the mother shook her head, sharing a disbelieving glance with Ran, before both women joined the boy's laughter.

Even Shinichi, who was watching the small group couldn´t stifle a grin on his lips. The only thing that somewhat clouded this moment was the cynical voice in the corner of his mind that repeated coldly that he wasn´t part of it and didn´t belong here any longer. Years could pass before he would see any of them again. Shinichi swallowed, his gaze fell from the small family to Ran. For a short moment he believed that he had seen a shadow in her eyes as well, but it was soon gone when Kazuha looked at her with a soft smile. He sighed, the cold wind pulled at his clothes.

' _If_ I'll see them again…'

Only now, Heiji noticed that his friend wasn´t looking at them any longer, but seemed to be deep in thought.

'Well done, Hattori. You're not only going like a bull through a gate - no you stamp the whole house down right away. Great.'

While his son was looking at him with big eyes, Heiji cleaned his throat to gain attention.

"So, I fear we have to go back to work."

Shinichi blinked in surprise but nodded. But the protest started soon. Shinichi watched how the Hattori brat curled his lips, pouting at him.

"But ya promise ta play with me, Ojisan!"

An apologizing smile made its way to Bell's lips. "I fear that has to wait for now, but next time, for sure."

"Promise?"

Shinichi stared at the small finger that Haikuro held towards him waiting for him to seal his promise, his gaze wandered to Hattori, who was still holding the little boy in his arm and only offered him a helpless smile. Shinichi bit his lips while something of his old ego flared in his eyes, before he hooked his pinkie with Haikuro's.

"Promise."

Kazuha could see how the smile on her husband's lips grew at Bell's words. She couldn´t understand what had happened between the two. At first, he tried everything in his power to keep them from meeting Bell, and now he was working with him hand in hand just like…

'With him…'

Maybe that was the reason for Heiji's strange behavior towards Bell and why he had such a hard time to get along with him. But thinking of the former best friend of her husband, Kazuha's gaze wandered to Ran. Her usual frozen smile was soft and warm while she watched Bell and Haiku. A broad smile stretched across Kazuha's lips, she knew what the two of them would do for the rest of the day.

Along with her smile, she took a step towards the boys, pressing a kiss on her husband's cheek, pulling their son form his arms, placing him back on the floor only to take his hands so that the kid wasn´t about to bolt again.

"Well, good luck then, ya two. We've got somethin' better ta do than ta rack our brain on a beautiful day like this, am I right Ran-chan?"

"Ah well, honestly, Kazuha-"

"Oh come on, Ran-chan! Ya want Ran-neechan ta come with us too, right Haiku-chan?"

The little boy looked up to the friend of his mother before he stormed forward to grab her hand.

"Yeah! Please, Ran-neechan! Please, please, please!"

Ran only laughed, but her voice held the slight hint that she had seen through his mother's scheme.

"Alright, okay, I'll come along."

After the three had said good bye, Heiji and Bell looked after them until they had reached the small park right next to the Police Department. Heiji had chewed his lips impatiently, waiting for the women to be out of hearing range before his gaze wandered to his friend.

"Kudo."

But Shinichi took his time to respond before he shook his head with a weary smile.

"Just, forget about it, Hattori."

"But-"

Shinichi however turned around, and even now Heiji recognized how tried he looked behind the fake façade, but the smile on his lips was genuine.

"Never mind. We had other things to worry about, Hattori, and thinking about what you've gone through these past days, it's no wonder that you found no time to tell me about your son. And that you didn´t mention your family to Bell is no wonder at all, according to what you've been thinking about him." He grinned, while his eyes went back to the small group that grew smaller and smaller in the distance.

"Honestly, Hattori, I'm happy for you. Very."

Shinichi looked at him over the rim of Bell's glasses, but Heiji knew that he was honest with him anyway.

"Thanks." The proud father grinned broadly. "But let me tell ya, I'm glad if tha little brat is lying in bed and sleepin' for once. He's got nothin' but nonsense in his head, bombardin' people with questions all time, not ta mention that I wish I could hold him on a leash sometimes. It's like herding cats. He's awake in tha middle of tha night of all times, while he faints durin' midday. And no matter what, he has ta pry inta each and everythin'."

Shinichi just laughed.

'I wonder whom he got that from, Hattori. But to be honest, I pity Kazuha, now she has to deal with the two of you.'

With a grin on his lips he clapped Heiji's shoulder, turning him with him on their way inside the Police Department.

"Come on, _Tousan,_ let's get back to work."

XXX

"So, what have ya got?"

Heiji shut the file with a loud sigh, glancing hopefully towards Bell, who still sat over his notes, supporting his chin with one hand while the other was spinning his pen around.

"There isn´t much left to work with of 'Holmes' last note, at least not if I'm right."

"Ya mean tha part 'bout ya?"

Shinichi nodded thoughtfully, glancing up to his friend while he started to explain.

"The only sentence that doesn´t fit is the first one: _ **However strange things might be, they always come to an end.**_ I don´t know what to do with that one… it's not a quote or something like that."

"Alright… so we have ta work with what we've got right now, in order ta work out who tha next victim might be."

Shinichi nodded. "For a start, we've got the crime of our victims, the murder of a red haired women. On the other hand, we've got the mitigating circumstances of their punishments."

"I've got somethin' else ta add, because it seems that our murderer only now decided ta involve tha police in his crimes, since I've found multiple crimes these past years that are too similar ta our murders."

Shinichi's look was serious, while his eyes flew over the files of unsolved cases, Heiji had laid out before him.

"He took some more time between the murders, so that the police didn´t see the connection between them, while he's now announcing his crimes… the question is why. Why would he change a strategy that had worked so well for him."

"Well, it wouldn't be tha first time that a troubled mind is so bored that he thought it would be nice ta play hide and seek with tha police."

Shinichi nodded, Hattori was right, but a little voice in his mind told him that there was more behind it. Their meeting with Hondo left a sour taste in his mouth, but he knew better than to voice these half-baked thoughts.

"Fine… so we focus our attention on the criminals who were released from prison for good behavior or mild circumstances… and maybe those who didn´t go to prison at all. We're searching for murders on young red haired women, I guess that should narrow our search down a little. But if we have no limited period of time…"

"… we're 'bout to get too many ta figure out who Holmes might attack next. Well… I guess it's worth a try anyway."

While Shinichi focused back on Holmes' note to them, Heiji typed the filtered data into the search engine of the Police Department, only to confirm their worries with a loud groan after a few seconds. Shinichi looked up and saw his colleague, who had slumped in his chair like someone had struck him in the face.

"That many?"

"Yeah… if we want ta check on all of them, I'm about ta see Kazuha and Haiku again when tha kid graduates."

But the short grin on Shinichi's lips wavered soon. What did it matter if they could limit the potential victims if there were still too many to look into - not even their prison records for each of them could help-

'But what if…'

 _ **I must apologize that my deeds now force you to solve another riddle, my dear officers. Nevertheless, it should be said that the key to your new problem is to be found in each bathroom. Unlike me, you don´t have to open a sealed door to reach your target.**_

A spark appeared in his eyes and Heiji could see how a familiar smile formed itself on the still foreign face.

"Hattori, try this one-…"

XXX 

Tired but relieved about what they found, the two investigators left the Department in the late evening. The night was already waiting to wrap the evening into darkness, but it wasn´t the only thing waiting for them. The two detectives had just entered the open, when they saw Ran waiting on one of the benches before the headquarters.

Heiji could her Bell swallow beside him, he glanced at his friend briefly before his eyes wandered back to the young woman.

"Neechan? What are ya doin' here?"

"I- Kazuha is waiting for you in a café just a few blocks ahead, Heiji."

The officer snorted.

'Seems like she wanted to make sure that I keep my promise this time.'

But when he looked at Ran again, her gaze already lingered on Bell beside him, he came up with another theory what his wife had in mind.

'So that's what it's all about…'

He knew that he probably shouldn't do it, but he simply couldn't resist when a grin searched its way to his lips.

'My dear wife… ya don´t know what ya're doin'.' He swallowed and shook his head with a soft smile.

'Well… neither do I.'

Heiji pointed with his thump to Bell, who was standing a little bit behind him in order to keep his distance to the teacher.

"Fine… but first, I have ta get tha Professor home."

"Ah, I don´t mind, I could simply get a-" But before Shinichi was able to finish his objection his words were cut off by her voice.

"I can do that."

She smiled but bit her lips when she could feel heat spreading on her cheeks.

"My car is nearby and I wanted to head home soon anyway. That means - if it's alright with you, Professor?"

Heiji could see how a drop of sweat appeared beneath Kudo's wig while he tried to explain that he didn´t want to cause any trouble and that a taxi would be fine before Shinichi finally gave in.

Heiji watched the two with a wide smile, knowing that his wife was nipping on her coffee somewhere close while her plan seemed to work.

'Sometimes ya're somewhat scary, Kazuha…' He tried to swallow the knowing grin on his face, instead cleaned his throat.

"Alright then, I'll be on my way. Just a few blocks ya said? Well, I guess I'll just call her ta ask." Heiji studiously ignored his friend's panicked glance towards him while he moved away from them.

"See ya tomorrow!"

Bell's eyes narrowed dangerously behind his fake glasses while he saw how Heiji hurried to disappear around the next corner.

'And he's gone. Damn it, Hattori!' But Bell's snort wasn't left unheard.

"What? Did you say something, Professor?"

"Ah- uh no, no it's alright."

Ran nodded but avoided his gaze while she spoke. "I… I hope it's really alright for you, Professor, that I'm driving you home, I mean."

Shinichi just blinked. "Of course, Mori-san! Thank you very much for your kind offer, also in Hattori-keiji's name, I guess it's better for each of us when his wife doesn't have to wait too long."

He grinned and she mirrored his smile on their way to her car. The only thing that broke the silence were their steps on the still damp gravel. Shinichi swallowed, searching desperately for a topic to talk about, but his mind was blank. His eyes shifted to Ran at his side, the silence seemed to be awkward for her too, but still she found something innocuous to talk about.

"I hope you and Heiji found what you've been searching for?"

Shinichi let out the breath he didn´t know he had been holding. At least that seemed a safe enough topic.

"Well…, I guess we're closer to the murderer already, even though everything is still rather vague, but we've got a pretty good clue who the next victim might be."

Ran stopped short and turned around to look at him in surprise. "You know who he is going to attack next?"

"At least we've got a very good guess, yes." A bitter taste claimed Shinichi's tongue when he spoke and hastily evaded her eyes.

'Not that it mattered last time.'

But Ran immediately seemed to know what he was thinking, because his sudden dull eyes and the slumped shoulders told her more than Bell was aware of. Her voice was soft, she took a step towards him and guided his attention to her again.

"It's not your fault."

"Huh?"

"The last murder. The police and you have done everything to protect this woman, so it's not your fault. Some things… some things just aren't meant to be."

Shinichi swallowed due to her low voice at the end but avoided to ask any further questions.

"I have to confess Mori-san, that this is exactly what I'm worried about. How could 'Holmes' get past the guards? And how did he know she was in the hospital in the first place, or why had he access to her file?"

Ran's eyes grew big, she immediately understood where the questions of the criminalistic professor were leading to.

"You mean…"

He nodded grimly, cutting her of before she was able to voice her thoughts. "At least it seems so. We're not sure about it yet, he could have gathered these informations from another source but that would require a lot of work."

"I understand… sounds like, you've got lots of work ahead of you." She played with her key nervously, so that the little charms on it jingled in an irregular melody.

"Well… if that's the case, I doubt that you've got time for a dinner."

"W-What?!"

Ran swallowed, brushing a strand of her hair behind her ear, before she looked at him again with a slight red touch to her cheeks.

"I though that we could spend some time together - after all you didn´t have the chance to visit the city properly. I could show you around if you want to, or we could just go to a movie, I guess a little distraction would do you some good." Ran bit her lips, she already talked to much.

'Come on, Ran, get yourself together.'

She took a deep breath, that shivered in her lungs. "I… actually I wanted to ask you if you want to - go on a date with me?"

Bell didn´t answer, but Shinichi could feel how his skin started to burn under the mask.

'Ran'

He swallowed and noticed how goosebumps formed on his arm, he had to bite his lips in order to prevent a hurried 'Yes'. Her blue eyes put him under her spell, the slight embarrassed smile was meant only for him, something he'd longed for quite too long. And yet, his old demons still tortured him, it felt like he was about to be ripped apart while he tried to prepare what he had to tell her.

He didn´t want to put her in danger.

No way.

He wasn't allowed to go out with her, and neither was William Bell.

'Right?'

He swallowed and noticed that the lump in his throat seemed to grow, while a breeze carried the scent of cherry blossoms towards them.

'Tell her that you've got too much work to do, that you don´t have time, tell her anything.'

"Sure… dinner sounds nice."

'Anything but that, you idiot!'

But the smile on her lips was all it took to silence the little voice in his head. It made his heartbeat fasten, while Bell's face mirrored her smile, before Shinichi himself could give the instructions to do so.

Ran however had to keep herself from asking him ten times over if he was really serious.

"So… do you have something in mind?" Bell swallowed and Shinichi noticed how rough the American's voice suddenly sounded. "If not - how does Italian sound to you? But only if you really-"

But Ran just smiled and avoided his gaze while her answer seemed to be directed to herself more than him.

"No, no… it's fine. Italian sounds nice…" 


	21. 21 The Red headed League

**The red headed league**

The small conference room slowly got filled, and the atmosphere grew more and more tense. It seemed like everyone had already read through Hattori's report, but the knowledge that the murderer seemed to be on a vendetta trip didn´t lighten their mood at all. Moreover, it seemed clear to all of them that their search for the culprit could lead them to their own colleagues. A "need not to know" case, was something that caused a queasy feeling in their stomachs.

Shinichi sighed, took a sip of his coffee and pushed Bell's glasses back in place. He could hear the whispers of Takagi and Sato, maybe they where talking about possible suspects, while Megure flipped through the case files for what seemed the hundredth time. Kogoro had joined him and Heiji by the window, shooting Bell an ambiguous glance from time to time, but didn´t risk a conversation, instead he continued to smoke his cigarette in silence.

Meanwhile, Hattori was in a chatty mode today and tried to squeeze out the truth of what had happened between him and Ran yesterday. Only when the door opened again to reveal the Detective Boys, who took a seat on the table in silence, he finally managed to change the topic.

"Don´t you think that the three are a little too quiet today?"

The officer raised an eyebrow, glancing to the kids, who suddenly looked to the floor, out of the window or to the ceiling, when their eyes had rested sharply on Bell just a second earlier.

"Yeah, that's right. Ta be honest, I wonder why they only show up now. It's not like them ta let go of a case in tha middle of tha investigations."

Shinichi just sighed. Yes, he had noticed - that's why he was worried about the sudden quiet behavior of the high schoolers.

"Did Ran tell ya something' about tha reason why tha three have been missin'?"

But Bell just shook his head, driving a hand through his dark blonde hair. He didn´t like the looks they gave him, not at all. But for now, they had more important things to worry about than his paranoia or the disastrous date Ran had instigated yesterday, even though he could barely escape the look she gave him when she entered the room.

They had a case to solve, and finally they had a track that could possibly lead them right into the killer's arms.

Megure cleared his throat in order to gain their attention, and finally started the meeting when everyone took a seat at the table.

"Hello everyone, I suppose each of you had the time to read through Hattori-keiji's report already." The dark faces of everyone in the room were more than enough of a answer for him. The chubby officer nodded, but his eyebrows drew together, forming a deep dark line between them.

"So, we finally got our first link, connecting the victims. First of all, the fact that they've committed murder in the past, second, their former victims. The only question is if that information is enough to predict who the next victim might be. Any progress regarding "Holmes" message, Professor?"

The American looked up, nodded and the smile on is lips when he started to speak sent a shiver down Ran's spine.

"Indeed, there are, Megure-keishi. Allow me to repeat the last message once again." Bell took his note book form the table and started to pace through the room while he repeated "Holmes" words aloud.

"' _However strange things might be, they always come to an end. I must apologize, that my deeds now force you to solve another riddle, my dear officers. Nevertheless, it should be said that the key to your new problem is to be found in each bathroom. Unlike me, you don´t have to open a sealed door to reach your target._

 _I wish you a good hunt!_

 _Sincerely,_

 _Sherlock Holmes'_

We already know that he wants to finish were the police, or justice had failed in his option. That's why he told us that the police were now totally blind in his first quote. This time the second part of his letter is the most important for us, he's speaking about "sealed doors" to reach his target. Adding our knowledge of the fact that our victims are former offenders themselves, the next deduction isn´t to hard to make."

"A prison. Our next victim is in custody?"

Surprised by his own conclusion, Takagi looked up, waiting for the reaction of the American.

Bell smiled slightly, nodded to the officer, while he continued. "Yes and no, the situation is a little bit more difficult."

"Damn it, Bell, you're talking like you already know who the next victim might be!" Kogoro's eyes were glued to him, but a smile appeared on Bell's lips, despite Mori's rude words.

"In fact, I do."

"What?!"

"Well after we deciphered our murderer's riddle, Hattori-keiji and I managed to eliminate the possible victims down to one."

Heiji nodded and pushed himself from his seat to place a thin file in front of his colleagues, holding information about "Holmes" next target. "Considering that only murderers who killed a specific group of people and didn't get tha full punishment for their crimes became his victim, there is only one person left."

Megure's eyes narrowed when he saw the picture inside the file. "I know this case."

Mori nodded as well, while his face grew dark. "So, that's why you corrected Takagi-keiji's statement earlier."

Bell agreed with a grim nod, but everyone else finally grew restless.

"Could someone please enlighten the rest of us?"

"The next possible victim is Kabawa Roki, who only got accused of the brutal murder on his wife but is going to be released due to the lack of evidence. Right now, he's still held in pretrial imprisonment. If I remember correctly his trail is going to take place next week." The officer sighed, when he finished his explanation, and glanced down at the file before him while he continued. "That means we've got our man. But we still don´t know how or when "Holmes" is going to attack."

Bell pulled his chair back to take his seat again before he answered with a shake of his head.

"No, I'm afraid we don´t."

"And what about the rest of the message? Can´t it help us to figure out more about the time of the next attack, Professor?"

Shinichi winced at the sudden question of the former sleeping detective, but before he had the chance to grit his teeth, Heiji answered Mori's question.

"Tha rest of tha letter isn´t of importance, just a few things ta fit the concept." He swallowed, his mouth felt as dry as the desert, but then turned to smile at his colleague.

"That's our opinion at least."

"Fine, so we take what we've got. What about you, Sato-keibu? What about the report of the two officers who had night shift in the hospital?"

She only shook her head with a sigh. "According to our men and the hospital staff, as well as the video materia,l everything went according to plan. No one else had been in the victim's room that night."

Megure just sighed, rubbing the ever-growing bald spot beneath his head.

'Another blind end.' He slowly got the feeling that this whole case was a freaking maze and they simply couldn´t find a red string to show them the right way.

"But there is something else we should pay attention to." The officer raised an eyebrow while the two detectives listened eagerly, glad that Sato mentioned it by herself, because they both worried about the problem as well.

"You asked me to investigate the reporter, to whom we owe our first big headline."

"It was the same one again, right? I've noticed his name beneath the article."

Sato nodded to answer Mitsuhiko's question, before her voice grew serious again.

"That's right. It's the same, but that isn´t what's bothering me but the date of release."

Shinichi swallowed, exchanged a quick glance with Heiji, before his attention wandered back to Sato.

"We only found Holme's note when doctor Matzudo finished his examination of the crops, but the article with the content of the note was already printed by that time."

Megure brushed over his grey mottled beard. "So, that means we've got a suspect."

"That's right, Megure-keishi." Sato looked at him, but a little spark of hope showed up in her grim expression, while she spoke. "It would be easy for a journalist to gather enough information about potential victims, even without an access to the police files."

Megure had also figured out where the thought led to. Maybe it wasn´t one of their own men after all.

"Fine." He pushed himself from his chair, before he looked back at their small group.

"Sato-keibu, you and Mori-keiji are going to bring me this guy." The two officers nodded, while Megure already turned to the next group.

"Takagi-keiji, you're going to join Hattori-keiji and Professor Bell tomorrow to visit Holmes next victim. I'm taking care of the necessary instructions." Takagi nodded, while Megure turned around, facing the windows.

"It's time to put and end to this."

XXX

The conference room had already emptied and everyone went back to their work. While Sato and Mori were on their way to the reporter, Takagi had started to search for all necessary forms for their questioning tomorrow, so that the two detectives had managed to sneak away from Ran and the detective boys, in order to consider how to deal with the man that was supposed to be Holme's next victim.

"Well that's going ta be fun." Heiji closed the file, rolling his eyes before he shared a bored look with his friend, who didn't seem to bother glancing up to him.

"I'm much more concerned about the location, Hattori."

"Huh? Why?"

"Well, it's a prison after all, I hope you're not about to leave me there."

"Ha, ha." But the smile of the American grew, due to the offended expression of his friend, before the ring of Bell's phone interrupted them.

Shinichi looked up in surprise, glancing from his wristwatch back to the display of his phone. The time difference was bout eleven hours, so that meant it was only nine o'clock in the morning in New York.

Who was calling him so early?

Heiji looked at his friend questioningly and Shinichi just shrugged before he took the call, but before the detective even had the chance to ask who it was, a well-known voice bellowed into his ear.

"Hell, Will, what´s going on over there?"

"What? Who- York?"

"Of course, it´s me! Listen, I believe there are a view things you should know."

Heiji could hear the excited voice of the American on the other end of the line. He had no idea, who Shinichi was talking to, but the widening eyes and the suddenly pale lips of Bell told him that it weren´t good news he seemed to receive. His gaze fell back to Shinichi, he could see how his friend's fingers started to shake and he adjusted a chair for him, which he just ignored. Heiji didn´t know that his friend was struck by disaster right now.

"Your students were attacked today."

Bell's eyes grew big. That hit home. Shinichi swallowed, noticed that his mouth had become a desert, so that Bell's voice wasn´t more than a hoarse whisper. "Are they alright? Did someone get hurt?"

This time it was York who took a deep breath. That was never a good sigh, never. The Professor chewed on his lips, goosebumps were forming on his arms, while he begged his boss to finally answer him.

"They are alright, Miss Swann alone is currently under medically supervision."

"What? Why?"

The head of the university sighed. "Well, it seems that the young Lady wasn´t amused by the manner these men questioned her fellow students."

Shinichi could hear how York swallowed, before he continued. "She went after them and when they noticed her, she was hit by their car. But a broken arm and a concussion aside, she's fine. She was quite lucky under these circumstances."

But Shinichi couldn't breathe in relieve at this comment, not at all. One of his students, someone he was responsible for, got injured… because-

He bit his lips, suspecting where the story would lead them. It seemed York allowed him a break, in order to digest what he just heard, so it was Bell who started the conversation again.

"You said that these men where asking questions… questions about what?"

"You."

This time the voice of the American was harsh, he made it clear that he struggled to deal with the situation.

"They tried to squeeze each and every detail about you out of them, they asked questions about multiple persons… but you know your students, they've neither fallen on their head nor their mouth, and immediately recognized that something is wrong. That's the reason they followed them in the first place."

"What?!"

"You don´t have to shout man, it was you who taught them this stuff after all, not me."

A bad feeling rose in the detective, he listened to the phone and the voices and other sounds in the background. Bell swallowed and noticed that his jaw grew tense, like it didn't want to allow him to ask the next question.

"York, Sir… say… where are you right now?"

"In your apartment, Bell."

XXX

'Why are you doing this, Ayumi.'

The high schooler swallowed at the picture before her. The young woman stood in front of the sink, a smile gracing Ran's lips. A smile that the male members of the detective boys had missed, a smile that was the reason for the queasy feeling in her stomach. Not being able to tell Ran what she knew.

When her teacher saw her movement in the mirror, she turned around, the disastrous smile still on her lips.

"Hi, Ran-neechan."

"Hey, Ayumi-chan, seems that you're back in the game, huh? What happened? It's not like you to miss the opportunity to be part of a case like this?"

The high schooler nodded, leaning against the wall opposite Ran and started to tell her the excuse the detective boy's came up with.

"Well, our holydays aren't too long, and after that our exams are going to start. So, we thought that it would be wise to study before the case is going onto next the level, so that we're able to take part in it now."

Ran nodded. "I guess that's right." But she wasn´t really convinced by the sudden wisdom of the detective boys. Fine - they were all good students, but when they were part of a case, they usually weren´t to be found with their noses stuck in their books. However, Ran didn´t want to pry any longer, but instead started to tell Ayumi more about the current state of the investigations.

Only after the teacher had talked for some time while the high schooler still stood against the wall more than silent, Ran decided that she had enough.

She sighed, turning to the female part of the detective boys with a frown.

"Come on, Ayumi-chan, ask your question already."

"Huh?" Ayumi looked up in surprise. "What- what do you mean?"

Ran just shook her head with a smile, drying her hands with a few pieces of paper.

"I'm a teacher, Ayumi-chan. I know this kind of look. The face you just made is typical for a student who doesn´t know whether to ask a question or not." Ran's smile grew soft when she recognized the embarrassed redness on the young face.

"I suppose that talking about the case was only to delay the inevitable." She sighed, leaning against the sink.

"So, don´t torment yourself any longer and spill it, I swear I'm not about to eat you."

The high schooler bit her lips, glancing aside.

It was now or never.

'There is no going back…'

"Do you love him?"

She hesitated for a second, before she clarified her question.

"Bell, do you love him?"

Well, THAT was a surprising question. Ran swallowed hard and pondered briefly whether she should simply deny her student the answer. But on the other hand, it would be nice to talk to someone about the mess in her head.

"I- honestly? I don´t know. I don´t believe that anyone would be able to tell… not after such a short time. I mean, we hardly know each other…" Ran swallowed, but the silence betrayed the unspoken "but" in her sentence.

"But you like him."

Ayumi mirrored herself in Ran's eyes again, before Ran avoided her gaze, nodding to the plane white tiles on the floor. Her cheeks grew warm, while she nervously kneaded the thin paper towel in her hands.

"I enjoy being with him. I feel safe, secure, it- it feels nice, when he's there."

A warm smile accompanied her last sentence, but that only made the cold feeling in the pit of Ayumi's stomach grow. She couldn´t remember the last time, she'd heard Ran talk like that about someone, or seen her so happy.

She had no right to destroy her happiness once again.

Ayumi gulped - was that what he felt when he had promised Ran that he would come back soon on the phone, while he acted like her little brother, only to make her smile.

To lie, or simply stay silent would be so much easier. It would be better than to let the truth destroy her luck.

'The truth…'

The high schooler bit her lips. She had found that the moral often was a double-edged sword, but the blade had never seemed so cruel.

And yet it seemed wrong to leave Ran in the dark any longer.

It was better to endure the pain now than believing in a false hope, only to earn another scar from an even deeper fall.

She took a deep breath, was about to open her mouth, when Ran spoke again.

"But tell me Ayumi-chan, what makes you think that? Is it that obvious?"

Ayumi blinked, ripped from her thoughts, before she shared an embarrassed smile with her teacher. "Maybe a little…"

Ran's cheeks grew red and Ayumi's grin grew wide, before it faltered again, when she asked her next question. "I just wondered. Please don´t get me wrong, Ran, but the look in your eyes… I guess no one thought that you would ever look at someone else this way."

Ayumi took a deep breath, allowing Ran to say something, but when she stayed silent, the high schooler continued to speak.

"I mean, you only ever felt something like that for _him_. No matter where he was, you just knew when he was close. Heiji told us about the case with Shinichi's doppelganger. Even if he seemed to be right in front of you, you've just been searching for Conan. You knew it was him, even though you weren´t consciously aware of it… you always knew, no matter behind which _mask_ he was hiding behind."

The high schooler swallowed, didn´t look up, knowing the damage her words were about to cause.

"But… isn´t it strange that you suddenly feel that way… for a completely stranger?"

XXX

"Someone broke in here."

No word left Bell's lips, his jaw was tight, while he waited and endured with a hammering pulse what York was about to tell him.

"Instead of calling the police, your students called me, I guess you can imagine my joy… but right now, I've got doubts myself if it would be wise to contact the local authorities at all."

He could hear how his American friend took a heavy sigh, a rustling noise on the other end of the line told him that York was probably twirling his mustache in thought. He could nearly see him, his hands shivering from the craving for nicotine, his eyebrows pulled together, forming a shadow between then, while the tips of his beard were pointing upward.

Bell had heard the silent accusation in the words of his superior, he could understand that York was avoiding a very obvious topic.

He knew.

Why else would he hesitate to call the police.

"The FBI…" Shinichi swallowed, nearly didn´t recognize Bell's voice while it cracked.

"You should call the FBI, ask for Agent Black and mention my name."

York took a deep breath, ready to ask his next question, before Shinichi noticed another, this time louder rustling noise in the line, pared with some cruses of the American.

"What the- Simes! Damnit, let go-"

"Professor?"

Bell blinked in surprise, when he was suddenly talking to his redheaded student, who obviously was even more out of sorts with him than York.

"Mr. Simes?"

The young man just nodded, forgetting the fact that Bell couldn´t see him, before he started to speak. He had enough of the two men tiptoeing around the issue at hand.

"Listen Professor, those guys suddenly appeared on the campus, asking questions about you and someone else, before they hit Julie with their car. Of course, we tried to follow them, but they were already gone."

Despite Bell's calm voice, Shinichi's hand had started to tremble when he asked his next question. "The two men were dressed in black, I assume?"

He could feel Heiji's gaze on his skin and noticed how the Osakan's eyes grew big, but he didn´t dare to return his gaze. Simes however seemed to be surprised by Bell's question, but he didn´t had to think about of for too long.

"They were."

He could hear how Simes let out a long breath, it seemed like the hectic was falling off his voice, leaving it even more serious. "I guess they found what they've been searching for."

His students voice was dry. Simes spared him the details, and Shinichi could imagine what they had found behind the door they probably had kicked down. His stomach dropped at the thought that his boss and his students had found Bell's face multiple times at once. Well, there went his option to return to his life in America once he finished the case. William Bell couldn´t exist any longer.

Shinichi bit his lips and closed his eyes, before his pressed out his next question between his teeth. "The name. Who else have they been searching for Simes?"

He could hear how the redhead inhaled sharply, he could nearly see his green eyes, framed by his freckles, which would bore through him if they could see him right now.

"Shinichi Kudo."

The name echoed like a shot in his ears, leaving him numb to everything around him, but he didn´t have to wait long for the recoil to hit him.

"Based on what I know, he's Japanese, once a well-known detective. He should be about 27 years now, but no one has heard anything from him for the past ten years. Some people consider him dead." The hoarse voice of his student suddenly grew quiet and was accompanied by a silent hint of fear.

"Professor… why are those people looking for him, why here… and what do they want from you?"

Shinichi closed his eyes, desperately tried to beg his brain for an excuse, but it remained remarkably dark in his head, like someone had switched off the light without his consent.

He took a deep breath, staring at the ceiling for help, while he searched for words.

"It's better for you not to know." Simes was about to disagree, but Bell continued.

"I told York to contact the FBI, otherwise I would ask strict secrecy from each of you." Shinichi swallowed, allowed Bell's voice to grow a little gentler.

"Please. It's important, Simes."

He could literally see how the boy bit the inside of his cheeks, but at least he seemed to listen to his professor, for once.

"Got it… I doubt that York would like if it became public that he had no idea who's working in his institution, anyway." The young American snorted dryly, but his laugh was more humorless than he'd planned it to be. Shinichi just exhaled deeply, trying to ignore the chaos in which he got his students and employer.

"Thank you. And Simes-"

"Huh?"

"Take care."

"Professor-", but the line was already dead.

Simes swallowed, staring on the lifeless cell phone in his hand before he looked around again.

The icy feeling in his stomach stayed were it was.

They stood in this small room, unable to ignore what was surrounding them. The door had been kicked down, only clinging to the upper hinge now. Makeup jars and pots were spread everywhere, as well as newspaper articles and notebooks, but they truly didn´t care about any of them. The face of their Professor was what sent a shiver down their spine. William Bell, who was looking at them, sometimes more and sometimes less human.

Simes bit his lips, his gaze wandered to the empty eyes in the artificial face of his Professor.

'Who are you?'

XXX

Time seemed to stand still in Tokyo.

Heiji bit his lips and watched his friend in silence. He wanted to give him some time, but when Bell's face stayed as lifeless as the mask itself, he tried to intervene.

"Kudo?"

His friend didn´t react, still staring at his phone in his hand. Heiji took a step towards him in order to take a better look, calling him by his name again. But rather than responding to Heiji, the Osakan could see how he shivered, before his fist hit the closest cabinet with a loud bang.

"FUCK!"

Shinichi took a sharp, shivering breath. He could feel the cold metal beneath his fingers, he was shaking, but couldn´t pull himself together. The pseudo-professor finally put his fist down, leaving an ugly red stain on the silvery surface. His body was rigid while he opened and closed his hands again and again, without that he noticed that one of them had started to throb painfully.

They found him.

They knew.

All the trouble, all these years, for nothing.

The detective swallowed and felt how bile was slowly crawling up his throat. He couldn´t even think about what could have happened, and what _had_ happened to one of his students - not to mention the danger still waiting for them.

"Hey, Kudo?"

The hand on his shoulder made Shinichi flinch despite the fact that Hattori had tried to talk to him for a while now, but he only now noticed him, looking at him like a deer in the headlight. But when Shinichi glanced up at his friend, he saw more than a fellow detective, he saw his wife, the cheerful little boy in her arms, who looked up to his dad, who was holding Kazuha close to him.

The image disappeared as fast as it came, so that again Hattori's worried face took its place. Shinichi however just gasped for breath, while he stared to the floor, trying to get air into his lungs in order to get rid of the cold panic inside him.

The fear disappeared eventually, but the guilt stayed, deeply buried inside of him, threatening to eat him alive.

He couldn´t risk that something happened to them.

Shinichi swallowed, fixing his friend again, and noticed that Heiji seemed to wait for him, unusually patient for the otherwise hot headed Osakan.

It was obvious that Hattori was ready to help him once again.

The detective took a deep breath.

Somehow it was nice to know that Hattori was back on his side, but this time he couldn't allow him to meddle. There was too much at stake, and he was far from ready to risk it.

Bell's voice was rough as he started to speak, finally giving Hattori some information's, even if it wasn´t what the Osakan had expected.

"I need to go."

"What ya talkin' about?"

"What I'm trying to say is that I'm not going to solve this case, Heiji. I need to go back to America."

Hattori's eyes darkened, he folded his arms in front of his chest, but didn´t even consider reacting to Kudo's panic. After all, at least one of them had to stay calm.

"So, they really figured ya out? They know who ya are… tha organization."

Shinichi avoided his gaze but for Hattori that was enough of an answer, he snorted, brushing his fingers through his hair, before he settled down on the edge of the table.

"Well… Fuck." He took a long breath, before looking to Bell again. "How-?"

"They've been at the University, asking questions before they found my apartment in New York. They've seen the masks. And… one of my students got hurt, she's in the hospital."

Heiji's eyes narrowed, things like "it's not your fault" lingered on his tongue, but he knew that it would be useless anyway, so he just skipped that part for now.

"How?"

"I just told you, they-"

"Nah that's not what I meant." Heiji hesitated for a second, sharing a stern gaze with his friend.

"Why have they been searching for you… searching for Bell?"

Shinichi's gaze darkened, but this time he did not evade Hattori's eyes. "The case."

He sighed, rubbing the bridge of his nose in distress. "It's the only way the murder has seen me - if he's connected to them somehow then…"

Heiji nodded. "So that's why Hondo, why the CSI is sniffing around…"

Silence regained between the detectives for a moment.

"So why do ya want ta go? I thought ya've been waitin' for a chance like that, Kudo."

"Yeah if they hadn´t found me first, Hattori, but now…"

"Ya want ta run away… again." Heiji's voice was sharp and made Shinichi filch, but he stayed silent.

"If ya go, we might never solve the case. When ya run away, tha killer remains free ta murder even more people!"

"They're-" But the blonde bit his lips, already hating himself for that he had allowed himself to think something along these lines. But Heiji had already seen through him, he pushed himself from the edge of the table staring at his friend with cold eyes.

"Criminals. Just say it, Kudo. All of them are murderers that are goin' ta be killed. But they already paid for what they did, and neither ya, I nor anyone else has tha right ta decide what should happen ta them. No one is allowed ta decide who lives and who doesn´t, Kudo." Heiji swallowed, turning away from his friend while he spoke.

"Honestly… I didn´t expect that - not from ya."

"So, tell me what I'm supposed to do now, Hattori!? Waiting here for them to kill each and everyone of you?"

"Ya know that it doesn't have ta come ta this, we-"

"No! No…" The detective sighed, brushing with his fingers through Bell's hair, his voice shivered as he tried to explain himself.

"I know you just want to help, Hattori and I'm thankful for that, honestly. But this time you can´t…. You can't risk it, Hattori and neither can I."

Heiji gave him a sour but also puzzled look and Shinichi rolled his eyes, he'd hoped that he didn´t hat to elaborate his thoughts. "You know that the organization is ruthless. They don´t care who their target might be…"

Shinichi's voice was enough for Heiji to finally realize where the thoughts of his colleagues were leading to. He paled and had to search for the next chair when his knees grew week from the very thought alone. Because this time, Heiji had more to lose than just his own live.

An awkward silence settled between them.

However, it was enough of an answer for Shinichi that Hattori had finally understood, _who_ he wanted to protect.

"It still doesn´t make sense, Kudo."

"What? Hattori, just think about it. You-" But Heiji interrupted him with a shake of his head.

"Believe it or not, Kudo, that's just what I did."

"And what do you want from me now? I doubt you want them to-"

"No! Geez, of course I don´t!" He swallowed, but the lump in his throat seemed to be stuck.

"I still believe it would be a mistake if ya would go. If they really know about ya and are 'bout ta murder each and everyone around ya, it wouldn´t matter where ya are." He saw how Bell's eyes narrowed behind his glasses. He knew that Kudo was afraid that something like that could happen, but he wasn´t willing to face the fact that he'd condemned all of them to death already. And hell, he hated to see his family as a target of those black coated bastards. Heiji swallowed and shook his head to get rid of these dark thoughts and the goosebumps accompanying them.

'I'm not going ta let that happen.'

"That was fact number one, fact number two is that they don´t know that we know about Conan or Bell."

Shinichi bit his lips, that was true, but to someone like Gin that hardly mattered.

Besides…

"It won´t be hard for them to figure out that we're working together, Hattori."

"So what? I'm also working with Takagi and the only skeleton he got in his closet is the fact that he falls asleep before his daughter while he's reading good night stories to her."

Shinichi knew that Hattori wanted to cheer him up, without luck. He seems to notice that, changing plans.

"Kudo." His voice sounded worried.

"What do ya plan ta do now? Knowing that ya can´t hide behind yar mask any longer. Where do ya want ta go? Runnin' away? Again? Until they go and kill one of us ta lure you out of yar hole?" His words earned him an angry glare from his friend again, but he already knew that his words weren't as threatening as it seemed.

"Honestly Kudo, I don't doubt that ya have grown careful since tha incident back then, but man, come one, ya have ta do something.

If ya go, they might as well kill us- or they won't.

If ya stay they might kill us, or they won't.

We're all in danger anyway, tha only difference is that if ya run away now, ya about ta throw tha last chance away ta get ya live back. Ya don´t want ta start from scratch again, do ya?"

Hattori could see how pale his friend was, his teeth were leaving white marks on his lips. The officer just sighed, trying to suppress the shiver running down his spine.

"It might be true that ya don´t have much of an option nor a real identity right now, but ya have what ya've been waiting for these past ten years, Kudo. A trace ta those bastards, namely our case."

Bell looked up, but his eyes were empty so that not even Hattori himself got reflected in Shinichi Kudo's eyes.

XXX

Ran's gaze rested on the door when Heiji entered the room - but to her surprise, Bell didn´t follow him this time. The Osakan whispered something into Megure's ear, who didn´t seem to be amused abut it before he nodded grimly, dismissing the young officer to his seat at the table.

The two male members of the detective boys, who entered the room shortly after Heiji, wore bore similar pale faces, but Ran paid them no attention, her focus was on Hattori.

"Heiji-kun?" She could see him flinch, he hesitated before he reacted to her whisper.

"Huh?"

"Where is Bell?"

The detective swallowed; he had feared that it would not be that easy to cover the sudden disappearance of the American.

'Well done Kudo – leavin' me ta take care of yar mess!'

He sighed and turned around to face her. Shinichi had asked him to excuse his absence to Megure because something happened at his university. The truth was a little more complicated of course – Kudo wanted to make some calls in order to figure out how to deal with the situation and what kind of protection the FBI could offer for his students and York.

And if Heiji remembered the broken figure of his friend, he was sure that Kudo could use a little rest. Of course they both hadn´t thought about Ran back then.

'Now I've got ta deal with her!'

His eyes wavered back to Megure, who had been fooled easily, Ran however…

'She's going ta figure it out, no matter what I'll tell her.'

He sighed, folding his notes while he spoke to her in a hushed tone.

"There was an incident at the university, one of his students was injured. It seems they were asking questions about an old case of his."

At least that wasn´t a lie.

Ran eyes grew wide, she nodded in understanding and didn´t question it any further though her mind was reeling.

XXX

Ayumi swallowed. She still felt nauseous and wasn't quite sure what else she could stomach. Therefore, she had been in a hurry to leave the police department and the two other members of their group. It might have been her bad conscience why she was avoiding them, but Genta and Mitsuhiko followed her anyway.

"Ayumi-chan, wait!"

She sighed deeply before she turned around to face them. She had noticed that the two of them were rather silent during the second half of the conference but she had thought that their pale faces were caused by what Heiji had told them about the former victims. Young women with an European touch and strikingly strawberry blond hair.

That alone was enough to ruin their day.

Her classmates however seemed to be bothered by something else. Ayumi could see that Mitsuhiko was chewing his lips while Genta started to scratch the bald spot on his head. Both of them avoided her gaze. That wasn´t a good sign.

"What's up, guys?"

The boys finally gazed up, sharing a short look, before Mitsuhiko finally decided to speak.

"We should talk about it somewhere else."

They did. Squeezed into a little side street between a laundry and a ramen-restaurant, Genta kept the latter always in the corner of his eyes. They told her about the phone call and the conversation between Bell and Heiji they had secretly overheard.

Ayumi's face lost its color while she listened to the boys, the smell - or rather the stench of noodles - did its best to bring her stomach on the edge.

'What have I done? If that's true then I just brought Ran and him in grave danger, especially if they know about Bell.'

The high schooler looked up, close to tears, while the two boys had no idea what was going on. Her voice wasn´t more than a fearful whisper.

"What do we do now?"


	22. 22 Murderous Truth

**Murderous truth**

They didn´t need to wait for him for too long, but unlike Heiji, the cold morning air made Ran tremble, the fact that they stood in front of a prison didn´t made it any better. Bell had borrowed a car himself today, and she couldn´t help but worry that she might be the cause for this.

Had she gone too far yesterday?

After all, she didn´t ask a stranger to go on a date with her every day. It must have been awkward for him that she suddenly had been so pushy and was now putting some distance between them.

'Or is there really another explanation?'

Ayumi's words still haunted her like ghosts.

Searching for the truth.

A truth that would bring joy and suffering all the same.

If… if he was-

The young woman shook her head defensively, rubbing her eyes when she felt the approaching headache behind her temple. But his sudden appearance was enough to run a shiver down her spine.

"Good morning everybody." His smile seemed tired.

And in fact, she only could murmur a pressed "good morning" when their eyes met, and she took a deep breath when Bell finally turned his attention to Heiji and Takagi.

Ran swallowed, seeing him turned her stomach upside down. He looked absolutely done. No matter how calm the American appeared to be, today it was obvious that something was bothering him. The reason had to be what happened at his university, since he clearly felt responsible for his students. His eyes were glassy, and he suppressed a yawn, while he hastily hid his shivering fingers his pockets, where they came to rest. But it were his eyes that worried her. Tired and worn put, but yet he glanced around like a frightened animal.

Guilt and turmoil formed the image of the criminalist today.

He probably didn´t get any sleep tonight, and even though he couldn´t do anything about it, he still blamed himself, just like –

'-Shinichi.'

She gasped for breath and blinked in order to prevent that the American's image was blending into someone else.

But she couldn´t help it.

His figure was melting away, Bell to Shinichi and Shinichi to Bell. One picture after another until only one remained.

'Shinichi…'

Ran noticed how his eyes, _Shinchi's_ eyes, brushed her skin time and time again. But she was unable to hold his gaze, instead she observed his movements and the manner he spoke to Takagi. Ran however heard nothing of what the man where talking about, her eyes rested on him alone, she could hear his voice and the way he was talking without understanding a word.

The eyes behind his glasses may seem tired and yet, they hadn´t lost their ambitious will to fight.

Bell - how he kept glancing at her form the corner of his eyes.

'No'

Bell, who put his chin in his hand deep in thought.

'No'

Bell, who shook his head with a grin due to one of Heiji's comments.

'No'

Bell, who explained.

Bell, who joked with Heiji.

Bell, who looked worried.

'No, no, no!'

Any doubt that was left was gone.

His simple presence was choking her.

It was him, he was there… Shinichi.

She swallowed. Ran had to turn her gaze away from him in order to prevent herself from holding him close to her, even though she didn't know if she simply wanted to hug or strangle him. Her eyes moved to Heiji, she didn´t have to search long to find what she had already seen yesterday.

Worry.

Heiji knew.

'Again…' Ran bit her lips.

'Why, why are you doing this to me, Shinichi? Why?'

She could feel how her eyes started to burn, the lump in her throat started to grow, while Bell explained something to Takagi, before Heiji whispered something in his ear with a grin. Even the looks he cast at her, uncertain and rather worried by now but still so damn friendly. So warm, that she wished that he would never turn away again, but yet all of this only caused one feeling inside her.

Nausea.

"Mori-san? Are you alright?"

She flinched back, like his touch had given her an electric shock. She rubbed her shoulder, still feeling his skin on her own, like he'd hurt her. Well… in some way that might be true.

"I- I'm sorry, I have to go."

She didn´t turn around, despite the confused eyes she could feel on her back, while her steps led her away from him. Ran had to swallow in order to wash the bitter smile von her lips.

In all these years, it was the first time that she wanted to get _away_ from him.

XXX

Shinichi's eyes followed her; the way Ran had looked at him still gave him goosebumps. He had seen this expression on her eyes before, and God, he really hoped to be wrong this time.

'Please don´t…'

The detective bit his lips, still looking after her before she vanished around the corner.

Why would she have recognized him?

Why now?

If Ran truly knew something, why hadn´t she seen through him before?

Why?

Thoughtfully, he crossed his arms in front of his chest, his gaze flickered to Takagi, who was explaining to them what they were allowed to do and what not in the current situation.

Meanwhile, Heiji's attention was focused more on Shinichi than his fellow officer. As always, Kudo's expression was protected by Bell's fake skin, but even the thick layer of silicon couldn´t hide the fact that his friend was currently haunted by the ghosts of the previous night, not to mention Ran's sudden leave. His dull gaze mirrored the turmoil of his mind, without doubt Kudo wasn't listening to Takagi at all.

Heiji swallowed, no wonder since the organization had ruined Kudo's existence once again. If they were truly connected to this case, then they only had one option: solving this case in order to have a chance to get his live back.

Kudo's live.

If-

The eyes of the detective grew wide.

'Damn it…'

After all that had happened the past few days, he hadn´t been thinking about what Ai's death truly meant for his friend. Heiji sighed tiredly.

'Could that really be true… is there no coming back for you, Kudo?'

"Are you ready to go?"

Takagi's voice ripped both detectives from their thoughts. Takagi blinked, turning his head to the side, he had the feeling that he'd missed something. Only when Bell's voice rang in his ears, the officer nodded hesitantly.

"Of course, Takagi-keiji, lead ahead, Hattori-keiji and I will follow."

"Alright."

They followed the officer inside the building in silence, but it didn´t last long.

"Hattori."

"Huh?"

"Stop it!"

"What?"

"These looks." Bell sighed and drove a nervous hand through his hair.

"I'm already deep enough in this mess without Takagi getting suspicious, so I would appreciate if we could focus on the case for now."

"But-"

Shinichi cut him off with a glance, so that the Osakan resigned with a deep breath.

"Fine. But at least tell me if you've already informed the FBI?"

Bell rolled his eyes but answered truthfully. "Why should I? They know what happened in New York, and I'm sure that they would have made it clear if they thought that Bell would endanger their investigations." Shinichi swallowed and his gaze darkened.

"Before I call for the cavalry, we should work on solving this case, maybe 'Mr. Holmes' will be able to give us some information's."

Heiji bit his lips and swallowed his objection before he followed them deeper into the dark building made of grey concrete.

Even if the whole building caused goosebumps to rise on his arms, Shinichi couldn't hide a smile. As uneasy he might feel inside these walls, he knew that it had to be even worse for Hattori. He could nearly see how the guilt was eating at the officer while they wandered through the place where his investigations would have put Bell.

Shinichi however just grinned.

'Believe me, Hattori, your expression is amends enough.'

But when they turned around the next corner, the thoughts of the detectives quickly wandered back to their current case when the interrogation room came in sight. A bored looking officer waited for them in front of the door, hands crossed over his chest, while a well-dressed man was already fixating the newcomers with his cold eyes.

Bell arced an eyebrow and shot Heiji a telling look above the rim of his glasses, who nodded with a deep breath. They both knew this sleaze ball just too well.

Nagato Etsuko.

A defense lawyer, who worked for everyone with a big enough bank account. No matter how obviously guilty they were, this guy still managed to turn killers into victims of the law in order to manipulate their punishment.

He wasn´t admired for his actions, but Japan's criminals often hired him even before they committed their next crime. Shinichi grimaced disgusted, didn´t even try to mirror the sneer Nagato was greeting them with. If someone should be put behind these bars, then it was the lawyer himself.

"Good morning gentlemen."

He didn´t reach out to shake hands, knowing that they would probably reject his greeting anyway.

"Let's get straight to the point. The trail is just a few days ahead and I guess I don´t have to tell you that you're not allowed to treat my client like an ordinary criminal as long as his guilt isn´t proven to the court. Because such treatment isn´t welcome, am I right, Professor?"

The chestnut-brown eyes of the lawyer glistened dangerously, he didn´t seem to know that Hattori was much more offended by his comment than Bell himself.

"You creepy little-" But before Heiji was able to rise his volume, Bell interrupted him with a calm smile that made Hattori wonder once again, how his friend managed to press it on his lips.

"Of course, not Nagato-san. But I guess you already guessed that we're not here to talk about the actual charge against your client."

The narrow eyes of the lawyer widened, but Shinichi could see that the surprise in them was a mere act. Because if there was something he couldn´t say about this bastard then that he was stupid. Of course, he could guess why William Bell wanted to see his client. The lawyer's next words felt like the hiss of a snake in their ears.

"I see. But I have to point out that my client wasn´t physically able to be an object of your investigations."

Bell raised an eyebrow, Nagato had formed his sentence rather clever, no direct question and yet waiting to be answered. Takagi had also smelled the rat and didn´t give in to the games of the lawyer.

"Of course not. But we still have some questions for him, and in that case your client has no right to demand an advocate, Nagato-san."

They lawyer's eyes narrowed, and Shinichi once again understood why those kinds of people where often compared to sharks, but the jurist didn´t fall into a bloody rage and the protest in his eyes died again.

"Fine by me. Do whatever you want. However, it should be clear that everything my client is about to tell you has no consequences for the ongoing process."

Heiji nodded and tried to ignore the bitter taste in his mouth. The reserved behavior of the officer somehow made Nagato calm down as well. He stepped aside, clearing the way for them, but not before he shot one last but sharp look at Takagi.

"I hope you still remember your promise during the trail, Takagi-keiji. If not, I fear we're going to see each other under different circumstances again."

Bell bit his lips and shot Takagi a careful look but the officer remained cool despite the obvious threat, instead his own voice grew cold.

"Oh, of that I'm sure.'

XXX

When they finally entered the prison's interrogation room, Shinichi was rather glad that it wasn´t Bell sitting behind these bars. The equipment wasn´t different form the room in the police department, though the window was missing in order to promise complete privacy for lawyer and client. A table, some chairs, nothing else, and yet something was remarkably different.

The occupant was dressed in deep blue clothes, his hands lying on the table were connected by two silver bracelets.

Guilt and innocence didn't matter anymore, no matter who would be sitting on this chair. Everything around them would imply guilt and danger, which weren't easy to ignore. Like an animal that should be held in chains in order to keep everyone safe.

And in the case of Kabawa Roki, it might as well be true.

The eyes of the prisoner grew slim when they entered the room, his gaze wavered form one to the other, before his eyes got stuck on Bell. Takagi cleared his throat, pulling a chair from the table, but remained standing.

"Kabawa-san, I assume?"

"No, the man in moon! Dumb question. You of all should know who you're throwing into this pit of a prison." He snorted in annoyance, clasping his arms in front of his chest with a metallic sound.

"I don't have anything to say. Everything is already prepared for the trail. If you still have questions – go ask my arse of a lawyer - that's what I'm paying this cormorant for."

"This isn´t about your case, Kabawa-san."

The man opposite of Takagi just grinned, snuffled noisily before he leaned forward.

"I figured that much, why else would you bring Mr. America along. But if you think you can blame me for that as well, you're mistaken! Ask your damn colleague outside, I haven't left this pit."

While Bell only raised his eyebrows, Heiji beside him finally came alive.

"Listen, man. Ya're right we're here because of tha murders and if ya don´t want that our investigations lead ta ya again, ya better start answering our questions."

Shinichi could hear how Takagi sighed, but the reaction of the prisoner showed that Hattori had hit the right neve in order to make him talk. Because even if the giant before them oozed more old sweat than intelligence, there still was wit in the small brutal eyes. He offered them a seat with a gesture as far as it was possible in those chains, but only Takagi took his offer. Without paying further attention to Kabawa, the officer placed pictures of the three victims on the slim metal table, pushing them over to him.

"Do you recognize one of them Kabawa-san?"

Kabawa's gaze flickered to Bell, before he looked at the pictures again.

"Na, can't say so. Haven't seen any of them, only in the news, even though I thought that you wanted to prevent number three? Didn´t quite work, huh?"

Heiji swallowed, he wanted nothing more than to hit this asshole right in the face, telling him that he was going to be the next victim. Honestly, protecting someone like him made him doubt his job. His eyes fell to Bell, his friend, aside from the tense jokes this morning was suspiciously quiet. He would bet that this jerk wasn´t doing anything good to Kudo's decision to stay in Japan. Of all the people Shinichi wanted to protect, their focus was now on this creep.

When Takagi had questioned Kabawa further and just finished his notes, the American suddenly made his move. Bell took a step towards the prisoner, not threatening but enough to gain Kabawa's attention.

"Did you kill her?"

Kabawa just stared at him.

"Your girlfriend, the woman whose murder you're accused of."

Silence.

Their former talkative prisoner didn´t move a muscle, just staring at him. Shinichi however, made another step towards him, giving his voice a dangerous tone.

"Because it looks like our killer thinks you did, Kabawa-san. He is looking for people like you, and there was a clear sign that you're supposed to be his next victim."

Kabawa still remained stubborn, but his complexion betrayed him, the bullish face suddenly was pale around his nose, and he was watching Bell with growing attention.

"Do you know how he kills?"

The simple question spiked the tension in the room, Shinichi's eyes followed a small drop of sweat that ran from Kabawa's bald head down to his neck. He waited until Kabawa's eyes rested on him and he knew that his next words wouldn´t miss their effect.

"His victims are dying the same way they chose to kill."

Kabawa's eyes widened, he pressed his jaws together so tight that everyone in the room could heard an audible crack.

"Go and get lost." The voice of the criminal suddenly sounded rough and hoarse. "Out!"

He looked up, glancing at Bell like the devil himself was right in front of him, but his eyes held more than pure anger, it was accompanied by fear and horror about the hellish prophecy of the criminalist.

"GET OUT!"

The officer in front of the door finally reacted to the third and now louder shout and led the three out of the room while the prisoner was still shaking with rage. The lawyer shot them a sour look and hasted back in before the door fell shut with a loud thud. Bell sighed while Hattori nodded thoughtfully.

"At least that's done."

Shinichi looked up and pushed his glasses back in place before he answered in Bell's voice.

"True, now we have to wait and see."

Takagi looked from one to the other, quizzically. Had he missed something? Why the heck seemed the two pleased with this conversation? "Would you be so kind to enlighten me? None of this went well, not at all!"

Bell turned to Takagi for a second, before he continued to walk through the prison corridor. Officer Hattori however did what he was asked for.

"If this guy doesn't cooperate with us, we don't stand a chance. So, we thought it could be useful ta- well, scare him a little bit."

"And how did you do that?"

Heiji shot him a look. "Ya probably should take a look at tha file again, Takagi-keiji. I doubt that anyone would like ta day tha way this guy killed his girlfriend."

The officer grew pale, nodded before he continued to follow the strange detectives.

Just when they finally got out of the building, they heard the door flying open behind them again.

"What's the point of this?!" Nagato had followed them, his head bright red. "You're wrong, if you believe that I'd allow you to manipulate him like that!"

But Heiji wasn't intimated by the skinny lawyer. "We don´t believe anythin', Nagato-kun. But we know that, if ya client is going ta be set free in a few days, that he'll be tha victim of a murder."

The eyes of the pettifogger grew big, before he found his poker face again, focusing on Bell who had started to talk.

"Of course, we're trying to prevent that. If and how you're going to help is up to you."

Nagato smoothed his silk tie but remained calm. "You mean if they deem him guilty, he would be safe?"

A smile formed on Bell's lips. "Why, Nagato? I thought you're sure that your client is innocent, or did you suddenly change your mind?"

The surprised and angry expression of the lawyer softened; his voice grew cold.

"Of course, not Professor. If my client is set free, I'm going to lay his safety in your capable hands. I'm sure you're not going to fail _… again_."

Bell's mouth was dry, and he noticed how Heiji spoke for him.

"We won´t."

XXX

Shinichi felt Megure's eyes on him while Takagi and Heiji explained what happened in the prison. The old officer was as enthusiastic as Takagi about the outcome of their meeting.

"So, we have to wait?"

"I fear so yes, we can´t do much before the trail anyway and until he's set free, he should be safe at least."

Megure's comment to Takagi's monologue was a loud sigh, he brushed his moustache in thought. "Alright then. Takagi-keiji, I would ask you to contact the judge and ask him about the course of the process."

The officer nodded before he left the room with a silent goodbye to Bell and Heiji.

"Maybe you would like to take a look at our paparazzi? He's still being questioned, but until now, we've got nothing but lazy excuses. We've got enough against him to arrest him though, but not for long."

"Fine, let's take a look at this guy."

They didn´t need to go far, before they found themselves in a small dark room. The only light came from the glow through the window of the interrogation room, which was masked as a mirror. Kogoro stood in front of the glass, nose nearly pressed against the cold surface as if he was studying one of his favorite animals in the zoo. Shinichi however knew that Mori was there to guaranty officer Sato's safety, one wrong movement and Kogoro would be by her side.

Sato had her back turned to him and was still putting her victim through the mill. This was going on for two full ours already, but Sato was well-known for being rather stubborn when she had to.

Shinichi's gaze brushed over the man, who now was sitting in his place on the other side of the mirror. He was neither notably big, pretty nor ugly. If one could say anything about him, it would be that he was particularly normal. A Japanese man, who could easily vanish in the crowd. A shadow jumping from one place to another without that someone would notice. No doubt a rather useful trait as a reporter. And yet there was something that caught Shinichi's attention, but he couldn't put a finger on it.

Sato's voice was cold and bitter in their ears, it was obvious that the woman was tired of this game.

"I'm asking you once more why you're not telling us how you got the message, since you're so eager to demand that you're innocent Kiraba-kun? Or do you finally want to call your lawyer?"

The reporter however just smiled, unlike Sato he didn´t seem to be bothered by the long interrogation, instead he folded his long fingers, before he started to talk in a soft tone.

"Why would I engage one of those shysters? It's obvious that you've got nothing but simple speculations against me." Kiraba's eyes and the sonorous tone of his voice echoed in Shinichi.

The game went on, back and forth. Sato asked something and Kiraba Otuchi answered something trivial, it was already evening when the officer asked her last question. They could have been talking about the weather, with more or less the same result.

And yet, Shinichi had the feeling that Kiraba's voice told him more than that. While he was talking Shinichi could nearly feel his eyes looking at him through the mirrored glass, making goosebumps rise on his arms.

XXX

Heiji was stuck in a traffic jam, cursing.

The whole day he had hoped that he would at least be able to pester Kudo on their way home, but he totally forgot that his friend had ordered a car for himself.

And now he finally knew why.

The Osakan sighed, he drove through his hair with his free hand, while he still hoped that the traffic light, which he suspected a few meters ahead of him, would finally turn green, or that the dumbass in front of him would finally find his gas pedal. He drummed on the steering wheel in annoyance while he thought Kudo's next options through.

'Guess ya don´t have much of a choice. Of course, ya could go back ta tha FBI, but then what? They would put ya under witness protection again, even though I doubt that they would be glad ta lose a chance like that. After all… we've never been so close in tha past. So what? Workin' on ya own?

I hope not.

Anyway… he probably has no choice but ta wait until they finally come within reach.'

He swallowed, shifting into the next gear in order to at least make up for the wait until he was met with the next traffic light. His stomach was rumbling, the dry sandwich they had in the police canteen could hardly be called lunch, so his hunger and the rather unsuccessful day mingled into a sour broth, scratching the walls of his stomach.

He only wanted to hurry back to Kazuha, spend some time with his son, before he would hopefully fall into a dreamless sleep beside his wife.

Well, fate had other plans.

The police officer groaned when his cellphone ringed, fishing his mobile from the car's dashboard.

"Hattori, Heiji here, who's-"

"Heiji?!" He frowned, due to Megure's tense voice that he could barely recognize between the noise of voices and sirens.

"Yeah, what's going on? Did something happen, Megure-keishi?"

"Is Bell with you?"

Heiji swallowed, now things started to get serious. He pressed his mobile to his ear, trying to listen to the sounds in the background while he answered Megure's question.

"No. Why do you ask? What's going on?"

A hoarse cough accompanied Megure's response. "That freaking smoke! It's burning, Hattori. Matsudo's whole guesthouse, I doubt that there is any chance to save it."

"What!?"

"It's burning, Hattori, the whole house is on fire."

XXX

She didn´t know what to do with her hands, so that her fingers had searched their own way, pressing the buttons of her phone before Ran's mind was able to stop them. Juts a few seconds later, Sonoko's voice rang from the speaker.

"Suzuki-Enterprise, Sonoko Suzuki here."

Ran's mouth went dry, suddenly she had no idea why she had even called her friend. But in the end, she was able to persuade her tongue to form a few words.

"Hi, Sonoko."

"Ah, Ran! What's up? I thought you and the three nuisances are working on the case?"

"Sonoko!"

But her friend only laughed, wanted to answer something when a male voice from the background interrupted them.

"It's Ran!

…

-Exactly

…

-And why should he call my phone instead of your mobile, as usual?"

Ran could her hear sigh in annoyance.

"Excuse me, Ran, Makoto is waiting for a call from his agent. This world travelling guy seems to be in a hurry to get away from here!" She had deliberately said the last sentence aloud and Ran could nearly see how Makoto flinched.

"Alright Ran, what's going on?"

But when Ran couldn´t answer the question, Sonoko simply started to talk, trying to make it easier for her friend, and even was able to steal a laugh from her. And it wasn´t until the end when Sonoko had finished talking about Makoto, her new wickedly expensive shoes and everything that happed these past days, she dared to ask anew.

"Did anything happen, Ran?" Sonoko could hear that Ran took a long breath, it seemed that her try to lighten the mood wasn´t too successful.

"I- it's about someone working on the case." Even while she told Sonoko about him, Ran could feel the heat in her cheeks and cursed herself that she had no better control of her body.

"Ahh, you're talking about Professor Charming?"

"Sonoko!" But she only laughed.

"How do you even know about him?"

A short click of her tongue accompanied her next sentence, and Ran knew that a wide grin was visible on her friend's lips.

"Well, if you don´t make a move about a girl's night with Kazuha, I had to ask her myself and of course she told me about your admirer!"

"He isn´t-" But Ran couldn´t finish the sentence, different scenes flickered before her eyes, in which their dialogue always ended in one sentence.

'- my husband.'

Not her admirer but her husband, that's what she'd always called Shinichi. Her husband. Ran felt the lump in her throat again and she struggled to breath.

Sonoko seemed to notice the silence of her friend. It was typical - if someone got close to her who threatened to take his place she would shy away. Ran was simply to honest, far too nice, so that they had to shake her sometimes for her to accept her luck and not standing in its way. And the way Kazuha sounded, this guy could really be… special. The man who could finally expel the ghost of Kudo Shinichi from her mind, the one who could make her smile again. Sonoko started to talk again, trying to be gentle.

"Seems like you're not sure about him?"

Ran sighed, looking at the white ceiling of her living room.

'If that would be all. I am sure… that's the problem. I just don´t know what to do… I just don´t.'

She bit her lips, tasting the remnants of her lipstick, she had put on this morning, just for him.

'How stupid.' In the end she managed to stutter a few words.

"Something like that… yeah."

"Well, that shouldn´t be a problem. Kazuha and I will have a close look at him, then we'll see if he's good enough for you or not." She couldn´t see that Ran only frowned.

"I don´t know if that is a good idea, Sonoko."

"Ah, don´t worry! You've got a date with him, right? Just tell him that you would rather go for a walk and whoopsy daisy, suddenly we're there. Kazuha could bring Heiji along, so that Bell has someone to talk to as well."

Their date!

She had forgotten about their damn dinner! How should that work? She couldn´t be alone with him, being near to him, or telling him anything. Maybe a walk would really be the better idea and maybe, just maybe her mind was really playing tricks on her.

'Who are you trying to lie to, Ran?'

She swallowed, nervously playing with a strand of her hair.

'It's him. It's just too much, two people can´t be so alike, no matter how impossible it seems. You don´t fool me again, Shinichi. I learned more from Conan than you think.'

Ran's long silence was unceremoniously interpreted as a "yes".

"Alright, I'm going to talk to Kazuha about it. I'll call you once we figured something out. You only have to put him off till then."

Ran just wanted to refuse, when the false blonde interrupted her again.

"At least… have an open mind about him, alright Ran?"

To be honest, Ran wanted to object but Sonoko's soft and somewhat worried tone stopped her. She sighed, didn´t know hat she was getting into, but she agreed without any further argument.

"Alight."

When she finally hung up, Ran still stared at the phone in her hand that now made the monotone sound of the empty line. Her thoughts hammered in its takt.

She had thought about mentioning it, her thoughts about Bell… and Shinichi, but she knew that Sonoko didn´t want to hear anything about this topic anymore.

Maybe she would have thought that Ran finally had gone crazy.

Or blamed it on the fact that it was just their similarities that made her mind wander down this lane. Maybe she would have laughed, only to pinch him in the cheek in Nakamori style, only to prove her wrong.

A short almost hysterical laugh escaped her lips when she imagined the scene and its possible ending.

Of course, it was possible that Shinichi had some surgery in order to change his face, but somehow she doubted it. He might still be hiding who he was, but he wasn´t ready to betray himself like that. And if Ran had learned something from the conversation with Heiji, Agasa and his parents, it was that he might have to hide, but wasn´t happy about it at all. No one would have blamed him for giving up at some point, simply growing up a second time, but Shinichi had faced the danger, eager to win his old life back.

And if he still had to hide, then it was clear that the organization was still after him while he tried to hunt them in turn. He still didn´t manage to push a dagger into its heart, but that only led to another conclusion, which caused a shiver to run down her spine.

Because it meant that behind the mask of William Bell wasn´t Shinichi but-

'-Conan.'

XXX

Shinichi just turned around the next corner when he saw blue flashes twitching over the darkening sky, but the thunder never came. The detective frowned, he took a deep breath when suddenly a piercing smell burned his nose and made him cough. His finger searched the button for the air conditioner and switched it off to prevent that more of the toxic smoke could enter his rental car.

His stomach dropped when he approached his destination and the smoke grew thick until the black clouds threatened to swallow him. His eyes already burned, the smoke searched its way through each and every angle and crack of the car, making him cough again. But all that didn´t matter right now. He switched back into lower gear and still hoped to be wrong, but when he stopped just a few meters before Matsudo's house, the truth hitting him with burning flames.

The street was filled with firefighters and policemen, the officers hurried like phantoms through the thick smoke, the blue flashlights alone filled the area with light until it faded into darkness again. The only thing that still shone bright in the dark cloud of toxic smoke was the guest house of Matsudo that was burning bright, spitting menacing flames in all directions and fumed furiously when it got hit by the waters of the firefighters.

Shinichi was somehow numb to all of this, his breath was short and fast, while his eyes seemed to look through the burning house, right to the one room that held Bell's existence in this world. Shinichi swallowed, ignored the shiver running down his spine while he imagined the flames slowly feeding themselves on Bell's face, the latex losing its form until his expression held nothing human anymore.

The detective bit his lips, still staring at the sea of fire that still produced thick black plumes of smoke. When suddenly an officer rushed out of the shadows towards one of the blue flashing cars, Shinichi came back to his senses.

He had to get away from here, fast!

Without thinking any further, he put in the first gear and pressed the gas pedal down, racing past fire and police cars to disappear in the black mist.

However, he didn´t come far when he parked his car in a narrow side street. Shinichi could still see the blue lights in the distance and had no idea where he was. Traffic lights and houses had rushed past him far to quick. Luckily, his mind had still been clear enough to make him stop the dangerous trip.

He took a deep breath, leaning back into his seat, staring at the two cigarette burns on the grey fabric ceiling of his car.

All his utensils, everything he needed to bring Bell to live was now devoured by the fire. When William Bell would go to bed tonight, he wouldn´t wake up tomorrow.

'This can´t be…'

Shinichi groaned, laying his head against the steering wheel, ignoring Bell's glasses that slid forward on his nose.

'What am I supposed to do now?'

He flinched when his phone suddenly rang. He stared at it, thinking that it seemed outrageous that this thing had the entire passenger seat to itself and wouldn't even stop ringing. When he finally reached for it to take a look at the display, he just rolled his eyes, before taking the call.

"Kudo?!"

"Bell, not that it would matter to you, Hattori."

"That's about right. Where are ya? Do ya know that-"

"Yeah Hattori, I know." Shinichi sighed, massaging the bridge of his nose.

"I know, I just passed by." When he heard the Osakan on the other side of the line taking a breath, Shinichi knew that nothing good was about to come.

"Ya did what!? Damn man, Megure thought you're in there!"

"What was I supposed to do, Hattori? Stepping out to wish him a nice evening? In the end he would put me in a hotel, under police protection. What would it look like if Bell doesn´t appear for a few days? If he's ever going to show up again at all." He could nearly hear how the penny dropped.

"That's true… so, everything is gone?"

Shinichi sighed, leaning his head back again. "You bet it is, and everything that hasn´t turned to dust already, is hardly recognizable as a human face anymore. Tell Megure that I'm alright and that I'm looking for a new place to stay right now."

He couldn´t see the nod of his friend, but interpreted the ruling silence as a yes, while he could feel how it started to throb behind his temples.

"What are ya goin' ta do?"

Heiji's question echoed in his ears, it took him a while to persuade his dry lips to answer.

"Bell can't disappear, not now…" A sigh accompanied his sentence, he took a look in the rearview mirror, from where William Bell was looking back at him.

"An I only know one person who's able to help me right now."

'Aside from Kid… who obviously only appears if one didn´t need him.'

His mouth twitched into a lopsided smile, but it didn´t last long, thoughts going back to what he had to do next.

"Alright, stay where ya are, I'm on my way." He could hear how Hattori rudely pushed into the next gear, and he thought it would be better to interrupt him, before he could ignore the first traffic light.

"No Hattori, I know you mean well, but-" Shinichi swallowed and placed one hand on his throat when he noticed that his voice grew hoarse.

"… that's something I have to do on my own."

XXX

Megure put his mobile phone back into his pocket, looking up to the burning house again. At least the fire brigade was able to push the flames back, so that they didn´t have to fear for the doctor's house any longer.

He could hear Mori, gasping for breath behind him, who approached him with long steps. The officer fished for a handkerchief in order to wipe the sweat from his forehead, only to distribute the snoot all over his face.

"Well?"

"He's alright, it seems that he was still on his way home when it happened."

The officer nodded in silence before Kogoro asked him a question himself.

"You haven´t told him about _this,_ Hattori, I mean."

Megure's eyebrows twitched briefly. "No, I didn´t and Mori?"

"Yeah."

"I want it to stay that way, at least for now." He could see how Mori bit his lips, but nodded before he turned back to his duties, while Megure was still deep in thought.

His eyes fell to the small piece of paper in his hand, on the few letters and numbers that one of their witnesses had scribbled on it when they went from door to door, asking if someone had seen anything.

There had actually been one useful answer.

A car, that had parked in front of the house shortly before the fire started.

A back Porsche, model 356 A.

* * *

Thank you for over 100 comments!

It's so amazing ^_^ ! Thank you soooo much! And of course also a big thank you to Tobina, who again took her time to beta this chapter.

I hope you like the current chapter as well, things are getting hot for Shinichi... quite literally.

I would love to read your comment below!

See you next month,

Shelling~


	23. 23 Resurrection

**Resurrection**

He had no idea how long he was standing here, motionless while he was watching the light in the windows of the house.

His house.

His home.

Shinichi swallowed, burying his hands deeper in his pockets. The smoke still scratched his throat, but he didn´t dare to clear it and even suppressed a cough because he was afraid that someone in the building could become aware of him.

Each time he tried to imagine what they had been through, his mind went blank in pain and blame.

'What have I done?'

He swallowed again, nervously chewing his lips.

'The better question is what am I doing here? Let's face it, Kudo, what do you expect to happen? You can't just walk in there after everything that happened.'

He suppressed a sigh, combing through his hair and took a deep breath. He enjoyed the dark silence around him for a second, but the nagging feeling in his stomach remained.

"I can´t do this…"

But to Shinichi's surprise his whisper didn´t go unheard.

"You'll only know if you try."

Bell startled, staggered to the side before his gaze met a familiar face. "Professor?"

But Agasa only smiled. Shinichi avoided his gaze, his eyes grew dark, before they moved back to the golden shine of the windows. For a few minutes, the two men stood there in silence, in front of the big metal gate, staring at the Kudo mansion.

Shinichi felt how the ice in his stomach slowly melted in the presence of his old neighbor.

'Why am I not surprised that you're here, Professor?'

A shy smile crept upon Bell's features and Shinichi could feel how some of the tension fell off him.

It was obvious that Agasa knew who was standing beside him. And he had neither ripped his head off, nor suffered a heart attack, but was simply waiting. Waiting for Shinichi to explain himself in order to ease the nightmares of the past. He didn´t push him and gave him his time.

Shinichi sighed, it felt good to let himself sink into this trust.

"Did you actually get rid of it?"

Agasa blinked, raising an eyebrow in question, while he stared over the rim of his glasses.

"Huh?"

Bell just grinned and let his gaze wander into the distance.

"The mole on your bum, Professor, which you've been so embarrassed about back then."

The old man grunted briefly, something Shinichi interpreted as laughter, before Agasa shook his head with a heavy sigh, looking back at the American again.

Even through the mask, Shinichi looked worn out and tired, though his eyes were filled with gratitude. He had realized that Agasa was by his side to help him - so that he didn´t have to go through this alone.

"All right…" The professor put a hand on the shoulder of the detective, pulling him a little into the direction of his home.

"… let's get inside."

XXX

He stared at the little golden button. Even if the gold looked used, its glow seemed to intimidate him even more. Shinichi swallowed and tried to take a deep breath but failed miserably.

When was the last time he had rung this doorbell? When he was seven, or eight? Before he had his own key, anyway. Even if he had forgotten it, or worse, lost his key, he'd knocked on the professor's door and not his own.

Nobody would have opened anyway - his parents had been in the states most of the time after all.

Shinichi bit his lips, only now realizing how foreign this little bottom was to him. He flinched when he felt Agasa's hand on his shoulder again, while the other hand of the Professor went for the doorbell. A melody, almost alien, echoed in his ears, like a children's song that had been long forgotten had yet felt familiar once you hear it again. Professor Agasa must have noticed the tension of his friend and tightened the pressure on his shoulder, forcing Shinichi's attention towards himself.

The sound of the doorbell had died down, and Shinichi closed his eyes, gasping for breath when he heard steps behind the wooden door. With a crack of the clinch, the door opened, light made its way through the door crack along with smells, Shinichi knew just too well. The sweet perfume of his mother, coffee and the aftershave of his father that was mixing up with the smell of cold cigarette smoke. Of course, a stranger could hardly tell them apart, it simply formed the unique smell of the house, his home.

When the door had opened far enough, his heart stopped. Shinichi could feel goosebumps spreading over his body, while his gaze was focused on the one who had opened the door for him.

Standing in the door frame in front of him was his father.

Kudo Yusaku.

Shinichi gulped, he couldn´t prevent his eyes form slithering over the figure of his father, recognizing the changes he'd missed over the last ten years. The grey temples and strands of the same color in his mustache, as well as the wrinkles that had dug deeper into his skin, giving him an even more thoughtful look than already emanated from the author.

If Yusaku hadn´t looked through the door's spyhole, he wasn´t sure if he'd managed to pull himself together. He swallowed, trying to force his entire acting talent - which, according to his wife was rather sparse - in order to look the man standing on his doorstep in the eye without giving himself away.

His voice was dry, but Yusaku managed to persuade his lips to form a few words.

"William Bell, I suppose?"

He looked at him, trying to recognize his son through the silicone, who only answered him with restrained silence. The discomfort emitting from Shinichi sent shivers down his spine. If it wasn´t for Agasa, he might have made a run for it already. Yusaku's eyes briefly met with those of his neighbor, who was chewing on his mustache, looking no less nervous than the fake American. Yusaku suppressed a sigh, nodding towards the criminalist with a polite smile.

"Please, come on in."

With that the author stepped aside, allowing Bell to walk past him in stiff steps while his eyes followed every move.

So that was him.

William Bell.

The figure, his son had brought to life.

His appearance was nothing new to Yusaku. After he became aware of who might be hiding behind the unfamiliar face, he had started his own research and had seen more than one picture of him. But standing right in front of him, only to see Shinichi's eyes behind Bell's glasses, was something different entirely. His voice was still slightly hoarse, when he turned to his son.

"Alright, Professor Bell, how may I help you?"

The dark blue eyes of his father rested on him. His own gaze wandered to Agasa, searching for help, while the lump in his throat grew.

"A- Actually I…"

"Yusaku?"

Shinichi froze when he heard his mother's voice, hesitantly turning to her. Yukiko however, hadn´t seen the small group in the hallway yet. She had just finished her shower, wearing a towel around her shoulders and blue jeans along with a green pullover. She just pinned up her still damp hair with a clip while she was slowly walking down the stairs.

"Who was at the door?"

He could hear how his father swallowed, throwing him a hesitant look before he answered her.

"We've got a visitor, Yukiko."

"A visitor?"

For the first time, she looked up, only to recognize that said visitor was already in the room. Shinichi could see that her cheeks turned a light shade of red, while she hurried down the stairs.

"Oh, please excuse my rudeness, I-" But she would never finish her sentence.

Her breath hitched in her throat when she finally _recognized_ him.

Silence filled the room.

Shinichi's gaze didn´t waver from his mother, thousands of little needles stinging his skin, but he ignored it and simply kept staring at her, observed how her eyes grew wide, before they started to shimmer with hidden tears.

She recognized him.

She knew who was standing in front of her, right away.

There was no mask, that a – that _his_ mother – couldn´t see through. Shinichi himself was unable to move, only noticed how his heart was beating faster while hot and cold shivers were running down his spine.

Yukiko's hands slowly moved to her mouth, until her fingertips touched her lips, only then she started to shake her head in denial.

No, it couldn´t be, he was- It was impossible, she was wrong, she had to be.

She closed her eyes, tuning her gaze away briefly, only to look at him again.

No dream, no imagination, he was here.

"Shinichi."

The name echoed ghostly through the room, sounding like a plea in his ears.

Shinichi swallowed.

He noticed how his eyes started to burn and bit his lips. His insides felt boiling hot, so that he almost wondered how Bell's face still managed to stick on his own. He lowered his gaze to the floor and reached into his hair without further hesitation, removing Bell's wig along with the mask, like he was pulling away a second skin. Only now, he looked back at her, nodding.

That small gesture released Yukiko from her spell.

Without that Shinichi could form another word, he found her in his arms, crashing into his shoulder, and her head buried in his collar, while the first tears disappeared into his shirt.

Shinichi himself was paralyzed at first, his mother's touch tingled under his skin and it took some time before he was able to return the embrace.

'Mum…'

He briefly closed his eyes, it felt good to have her back, but every sob of his mother hammered the guilt deeper into his heart. It was spreading inside him like a disease, devouring more and more of the cozy warmth of his mother's embrace.

They had believed him to be dead.

Dead.

He gasped for air, trying to shake himself form the thought in order to focus on his mother, whose whimpers slowly tore his heart apart.

"Shinichi…, my Shin-chan. Shinichi…" She said his name, over and over again, while her tears vanished into his collar. It was obvious that she still couldn´t believe that she got her son back.

But here he was.

'My Shinichi…'

The thought alone left the actress gasping for breath again.

Shinichi wanted to say something, to calm her down, anything, when he remembered that not his, but Bell's voice would come from his throat. He blinked and searched for the modified transponder in his pocket and switched the device off. He shivered, barely dared to move since she was still holding onto him. Shinichi swallowed before his lips formed the very word, Yukiko had believed she'd never hear again.

"Mom-…"

A hoarse cry left her lips, she hugged him even tighter, only crying more while her damp curls slowly slipped from her hair pin.

Terrified and searching for help, he looked up to his father and the professor, both looking at them with tortured faces. Agasa's cheeks showed clear traces of his own tears, while his father was so pale that he would have preferred to get him a chair.

It was unusually quiet in the Kudo mansion; the tears of his mother left the air heavy and made breathing almost impossible. Shinichi swallowed, looking back to his mother who was still crying in his arms.

That's not what he'd wanted.

Never.

Whether he knew or didn't know about the lies of the FBI, this should never have happened.

The high schooler took a deep breath, gently stroking his mother's back, his words nothing but a whisper.

"I'm sorry."

XXX

Somehow, they had made it to the couch.

And while Shinichi told his story without being asked to do so, Yukiko still cried on his shoulder, but slowly calmed down when he reached the current events. The professor had taken a seat beside Yukiko, while his father sat across him in the large chair he always claimed. Except for a few questions when they didn´t understand some parts of his story, they didn´t interrupt him.

Yusaku never let his son out of his sight. It was strange to remember himself that the high schooler sitting in front of him was supposed to be twenty-seven, everything but a child or teenager. If Shinichi would have grown up here again, it might not be so difficult for him, at least the author wanted to believe that. Shinichi came back the way he left them, like the organization never happened. While everyone around him had aged, time had spared him.

Yusaku swallowed, massaging his temples with a sigh. Of course, that wasn´t true. Time hadn´t left Shinichi untouched, he was just running after it… a fight he couldn´t win, while the race had clearly left its traces on him. Because it wasn´t Shinichi sitting in front of him, but Conan, for whom one disguise wasn´t enough to stay alive. Because that's what he'd probably been up to these last years, staying alive and protecting those he loved while he still hunted the organization.

A bitter smile crept beneath the writer's grey-dotted mustache. What irony that he hadn´t known that all of them had believed him to be dead. After all, the FBI had given them enough evidence to believe in his death, so that Conan could stay alive.

'But this can´t go on, Shinichi… I'm sure you know that.'

But Yusaku knew the answer to this question and he didn´t like it, not at all.

Because Shinichi wasn´t about to quit any time soon. He would keep on going, he had to - until it would finally come to an end. Though how this end might look like filled his stomach with ice. He and Yukiko went through it once, but he didn´t want to cope with it again. A tired sigh left his throat, while he was calmly playing with the temple of his glasses.

'I just hope I'm wrong'

Meanwhile, Shinichi had reached the end of his story, looking even more tired than before. Yet, Yusaku wasn´t ready to release his son that easily. They shared a long silent look, before the author bent forward in his armchair, pressing his fingertips at each other while his elbows rested on his knees.

"So, you think that the organization set the fire."

Shinichi looked at him, but just shrugged. "At least it would make sense, right?"

His father nodded, before he leaned back thoughtfully. "I just can´t believe it to be an attempt to kill you."

"No, no, I don´t think so either. If they would have tried to do so, I don´t doubt that they would have succeeded… this time." Shinichi swallowed and noticed that Agasa was also listening tensely. "They wanted to warn me, to scare me, or-"

"Keeping Bell from working, and they did, right?" Agasa cast him a questioning look, which the high schooler answered with a nod, but a glance to his mother betrayed him, before he continued.

"For now, yea. But I have to keep working. If I stop now, the track will grow cold again."

"Even though you know that they are aware who's behind Bell? These people are just waiting for a chance to finally get rid of you, Shinichi."

Shinichi flinched under the dubious voice of his father. And he knew he had a point. Only yesterday he wouldn´t have thought that he would work on the case any longer, but there was just too much at stake right now. Running away would mean to lose what might be his last chance to get a hold of the organization, even if the price he might have to pay was higher than he would have liked. He swallowed, dragging his fingers down his face, surprised to find warm skin beneath his fingertips for a second.

'I'm really just too used to Bell.'

But the lopsided grin remained suppressed. He knew his father was still waiting for an answer, so he finally did him the favor along with a deep sigh.

"I know. But they didn´t, for whatever reason. Believe me, I don´t like it either, but right now, I don´t have any other choice but to play along until it's my turn. That's the reason why Bell can´t just vanish - not now."

The words of the detective hung heavy over the room, before the professor broke the silence.

"And what if you go without-"

A telling glance from Shinichi silenced Agasa, while Yusaku became even more aware of how dangerous the situation was.

No, Shinichi couldn´t go into public like this.

Someone would recognize him, and once the media got wind of it, everything would be over. Not everyone might remember the high school detective, but a single person would be enough, pulling a string to let his entire web of lies collapse. And that aside, there still was Ran.

"Believe me, I've been thinking about it, but even if I manage to wrangle myself back into the case, I still have to explain myself to the police force. And honestly, I'm not looking forward to another night behind barred windows." He smiled mockingly, but his words were far too dry for the joke and didn´t really fit his next sentence.

"Bell has to investigate further, it's our only chance." Shinichi shared a stern look with his father, who had already understood what this was all about, what help he asked of them, or rather of his wife. His eyes wandered to Yukiko. Shinichi caught his glance, before he looked to his mother as well, who had slipped away from him and was now staring at him with wide eyes.

Her voice was nothing more than a whisper, and still hoarse and brittle from her tears, when she started to speak. "That's the reason you came?"

Shinichi felt his mother's eyes on his skin, swallowed, but didn´t dare to turn away from her.

"After ten years… Shinichi. We- I thought you were dead. Shinichi. My son, my child - dead."

Each word made him flinch, his hands clenched into fists, while he endured everything she said. And why not - she was right, after all.

Professor Agasa, however didn´t like seeing how Shinichi grew paler with each second. He could understand Yukiko and the reason she was upset, but he knew that the actress would only regret her words.

"But Yukiko, the boy didn´t know-"

The strawberry-red beauty didn't let him finish but jumped up from the couch and cut him off with a sharp gesture, while her hair clip loosened, so that even more curls slipped from its grip.

"No. No, not the past ten years, but these last days he did. He knew about it, thanks to Heiji," she hissed and clenched her manicured hands into fists and now directly addressed her son.

"You knew what we had to believe, the thought we had to live with, Shinichi, yet you only came now."

Her lips grew thin, her words barely more than a whisper, while her eyes still held a glassy shine.

"Would you be here if you didn't need my help, Shinichi?"

He gasped for breath, and pushed himself to his legs, approaching her with a gentle gesture.

"Mom, I-"

But the actress ignored his pleading tone, demanding an answer.

"Would I have seen you again?"

He closed his eyes and cringed beneath her voice, ignoring the hot tingle of his skin.

Shinichi had been waiting for that question.

And his mother knew the answer, he was aware of that, and yet, she demanded from him to say it, only to hurt her even more. He took a long breath, closing his eyes, and when he opened them again, his voice was raspy. Shinichi didn´t look up but kept staring at the floor while he answered.

"No."

This small word left his mother frozen to the spot. Shinichi still didn´t look up, didn´t see how the actress bit her lips, before she closed her eyes. It wasn't until he heard her walking away from him that his gaze fell back on her.

"Mom, please-"

Yukiko stopped, but didn´t turn around to look at him, only shaking her head. "No, Shinichi. I don´t want to hear it." Her words wavered, and when Yukiko closed her eyes again, she felt how tears ran down her cheeks. She pressed the back of her hand against her lips to prevent that even more of these useless words could escape.

Yusaku and the professor had also risen from the couch. While Agasa stayed where he was, the author made a step toward his wife.

"Yukiko…"

He intended to put a hand on her shoulder, but she just shook him off, glaring at him when she finally turned around.

"Leave me. And why are you so calm? We buried him, Yusaku! We were at his funeral!"

Not only her voice but her whole body had started to shake at the thought. She had to swallow in order to fight the lump in her throat, before she continued to speak.

"And now he's standing here, fresh as a daisy and hasn´t even thought about coming sooner! No, just the opposite! He would rather keep us believing him to be dead. So, why the hell are you so calm!?"

She stared at him, through the dense fog of her own tears that made his image waver. Yusaku held her gaze for a long time, but not long enough, because when he suddenly avoided her eyes, even just for a second, she immediately knew why he was behaving this way.

Why he wasn´t upset, why he couldn´t understand her and simply seemed to accept each and everything. The realization hit her, wide-eyed and almost fearful she took a step back with a disbelieving whisper.

"You knew…"

Yusaku pressed his lips together, taking a deep breath when he started a new try to get through his wife's anger and grief, even when he knew that he hadn´t much of a chance. She felt betrayed by them and the author knew that she somehow was right.

"Yukiko…"

When he tried to reach for her hand she pulled away, a slight threat now lingered in her eyes.

"No. No!" She shook her head, so that her hair pin now finally lost its hold, falling to the ground, releasing her red-blond curls over her shoulders in a tangled mess.

"I don´t want to hear it! From none of you!"

With one glance to the three men, the actress turned around and left. The door fell shut with a loud bang, leaving them in silence.

Only a few minutes later, they could hear how an engine howled, before the car left the property, along with a deep sigh from Yusaku.

He drove one hand over his face and buried the other in his pocket, before he slowly turned around to his son, who stood stone-still in the hallway. Only when Shinichi realized that his father's eyes were resting on him, he dared to look up. His father's expression was serious, none of them spoke a word until Yusaku finally made a move.

"I'm going to talk to her, Shinichi. You can move back into your room if you want to, and there should still be some leftovers in the fridge if you're hungry."

With that he turned around, reached for his coat and just wanted to leave when the professor stopped him.

"Do you know where she might have gone to, Yusaku?"

The writer's dark blue eyes met his. "I've a pretty good idea."

XXX

Shinichi stared at the bowl of cold soup on the table in front of him. The Professor had warmed it up for him before he left to "finish an invention". However, the detective had the feeling that his old friend rather wanted to give him some space.

The broth had long gone cold. He had changed into some of his old clothes he'd found in the wardrobe of his room and was now sitting at the kitchen table, not knowing what to do with himself.

He wasn´t hungry.

The high schooler sighed, stirring the soup and observed how the little pieces of vegetables got carried away in the small swirl.

'Well, that went wonderful, just as expected.'

He swallowed, trying to get the picture of his mother out of his head, along with the sorrowful gaze in his father's eyes that had said more than words. He wouldn´t have survived the evening without the Professor, the old man was the only one who had tried to make it easier on him. Shinichi pushed the bowl away. He would go and thank him, that's le least he could do after all the damage he'd caused.

The detective searched his way through the back door, sneaking through the garden to the Professor's house, so that no one would see him without the protective mask.

A quiet knock on the balcony door made Agasa jump. Only the dark silhouette of his visitor could be seen through the glass, but the scientist immediately knew who stood there in the cold, and didn´t hesitate any longer but let him in.

"Good evening, Professor, I wanted to thank you for-"

But even before Shinichi was able to close the door behind him, the Professor cut him off.

"You stupid, stupid, boy!"

The old man took him by the shoulders before hugging him, digging his wrinkled hands into his clothes while his breath shivered. Only now, Shinichi realized how much Agasa had pulled himself together for him. But now, without the protective layer of silicon, back in his old clothes, the wall around the Professor seemed to crumble.

The sniffles became quiet and Agasa finally let him go. The hoarse and tearful gasps transformed into a shivering giggle. Agasa smiled dryly, shaking his head in embarrassment before he wiped the last tears from the corner of his eyes.

"Old fool that I am, I'm scolding you while you didn´t know about it in the first place. It's just…" His voice ebbed off, Agasa's gaze fell to the floor as he spoke.

"I miss her, Shinichi, I miss her so much…"

Shinichi looked up, struck by his friend's tortured voice. Agasa's eyes were still wet, his glasses fogged by the tears.

'Professor…'

The detective bit his lips and tried to swallow around the lump in his throat.

"No, no… you're right, Professor. It's my fault, all of this…" Shinichi let out a heavy breath, shaking his head. "I should have searched for help, instead of digging deeper into the whole matter."

"Then what, Shinichi? More people might be dead now if it wasn´t for you. No, as much as I hate it that you put yourself in danger… but it was the right thing to do." The old man showed a mocking smile. "After all, it was me who instigated the whole thing to begin with. I gave you the advice not to talk to anyone about it, to investigate on your own."

He bit his lips. "None of us could have known how big the whole thing truly was and what kind of enemy you've made. Not until- until Ai-kun showed up. She made it clear what the organization was capable of. But she also saw what _you are_ capable of, Shinichi. For this reason alone, she was able to sleep more peaceful night after night." He swallowed; a pale smile wavered on his lips.

"Who would have thought that she would become so dear to me…"

XXX

The numbers on the display changed with each second, wandering up like a reverse countdown, before a soft beep announced that he'd reached the top floor. Yusaku waited patiently until the metal door of the elevator opened, so that he could step out.

The Beika Restaurant was still spinning around his own axis, moving ceaselessly in the same direction, without moving anywhere. The panoramic windows offered a beautiful view of the city, the clear sky revealed how icy the night had already become.

His gaze scanned the restaurant, but he didn´t have to search long, before he spotted his wife.

Yukiko sat at the bar, her stare was focused on her glass of red wine, like it was to blame for all her pain. Her puffy eyes slowly faded, but otherwise, she still looked just as upset as before. She didn´t even try to perform some damage control with a little makeup.

The author had to smile. He didn´t care if she dolled herself up or not, she was beautiful to him anyway. But for his wife it was a no-go to leave the house without makeup.

Usually.

He sighed, hiding his hands in his pockets, before he walked over to her. Without saying anything, he took a seat beside her and waited. Some time passed without any of them losing a word, instead Yukiko continued to stare into her glass that she hadn´t touched.

Only when another couple sat down at the bar, so that the waiter could focus on them, she started to speak. The anger had disappeared form her voice, her words were now powerless and exhausted.

"You don´t have to give me a sermon, you know."

Yusaku looked at her form the corner of his eye and waited for her to continue.

"I know why he acted the way he did. He's just like you." A short smile ghosted over her pale lips. "And that's just why you two boneheads manage to make me so angry!" She swallowed and finally looked up into eyes which were so alike to her son's that it had cost her much strength these past years.

"Why do you two always have to keep everything a secret? Doing everything on your own. Do you really think that you're able to protect us or help us like this? Me… or Ran."

Yusaku looked at her in silence. He noticed that she was shaking and put his coat around Yukiko's shoulders. She allowed it but was still waiting for an answer.

With a sad smile, he finally replied. "I guess that we like to believe we can. We have to believe that we have a chance to protect you, Yukiko. You're probably right, it doesn´t make sense, but sometimes it's everything we've got to hold onto in order to not go crazy, because we think that we might be able to spare you these pains."

"Yusaku…"

She looked at him, blinked due to the rare emotion her husband displayed and finally moved closer to him, before she leaned her head on his shoulder.

"I know- I know why he did it. It's just…" She swallowed, biting her lips nervously while fear crept under her skin, causing goosebumps to form on her arms.

"He wants to keep going. Although they're chasing him and are so close to-" Yukiko couldn´t finish her sentence before Yusaku protectively put an arm around her.

"I can´t lose him Yusaku… not again."

* * *

Hey everyone!

I hope you enjoyed the chapter- I know you're all waiting for more ShinRan but I thought another reveal in between wouldn´t hurt (okay it did- even writing it was hard sometimes) but I hope you still like it!

Thank's for your feedback! Everyone! You know that I am trying to answer every review, but sadly I can´t answer the guest reviews probaply but please know that I really do enjoy hearing your option!

And of course- as always- a big thank you to Tobina, for her great work!

I am looking forward to your reviews, since they really mean much to me.

Till next time,

Shelling


	24. 24 Witnesses

22\. Witnesses

The hot steam, rising from his teacup was disturbed by a deep sigh. Megure's eyes followed the milky fog nervously swirling around before it calmed back down like a flickering candle, in contrast to the actual case. The officer swallowed, rubbing the ever-growing bald spot beneath his hat. Instead of finding a real lead, the whole thing just grew more and more tangled and confusing.

And now this as well.

The eyes of the Tokyo homicide officer rested on the small note in front of him, where a few numbers and letters were enough to turn his world upside down. Not to mention that it had cost him last night's sleep - he hadn´t even tried to lie down beside Midori, since he knew that he was only about to wake her, turning and tossing while trying to find some rest. The hard sofa however, didn't help his sour mood, nor the solution of the case.

 _ **Porsche, black**_

 _ **356 A**_

'Why are they here? And the more important question, what is Bell's connection to them? Could it be possible that they're involved in the case?'

Megure frowned, the death of two children still occupied his mind, even now, ten years ago.

Haibara Ai and Edogawa Conan.

Heiji and the FBI had finally admitted that there had been an organization chasing the two children, a cruel and ruthless enemy.

And yet, Megure couldn´t help the feeling that something wasn´t matching up. That there was something they've been hiding from him, maybe even something that mattered in the current case as well?

It was a knock on his office door that finally ripped him from his thoughts. He wasn´t surprised to find Sato, Takagi and Mori entering the room, a quick look to his watch and he knew that they were too early, and a look in their faces told him that they had a similar night.

So better straight to business.

"The conference for today has been canceled." Megure stood up, propping himself with his hands on the desk. "We've got some police work to do before we can play group therapy again, in order to sort this disaster.

"Sato-keibu, you're going to stay with Kiraba, should this wannabe-paparazzi do as much as lift his little finger, I want to know about it. It can´t be a simple coincidence that he shows up at the right time and place on each case, not to mention that he wasn´t helpful till now."

Sato nodded; she had hoped that Megure wouldn´t let him off too easily.

"Alright. Takagi-keiji, your job is to observe the process at the court and maybe talk to this shark of a lawyer again. Maybe we can at least negotiate and gain some time. And Mori-keiji you- what now!?"

A loud knock had ripped Megure from his sentence, his incensed request was unceremoniously interpreted as an invitation to come in. Hamato, the skinny officer from the forensics team, reluctantly entered the room and handed Megure a file.

"Good morning, Megure-keishi, I've got the first result of the fire investigations you've asked for."

"Thank you, Hamato-kun, anything interesting?"

"Ah well…" The officer's gaze went to the file in Megure's hands. "Traces of a combustive agent were found. So, we assume it to be arson."

"Alright, anything else? I'm sure there is more about it, I can read it in your face, Hamato-kun."

The young man blinked briefly but nodded. "Our colleagues found a high amount of silicate in one of the rooms, we couldn´t identify it at first until we also found some samples of polysiloxane, in order words…"

"Silicone."

Kogoro flinched when Megure finished the officer's sentence, his gaze rested on the old officer, but he only thanked Hamato and finally excused him from the room. A heavy silence wavered between the four police officers, what put a strain on the former sleeping detective's mood.

'So it's true… Kudo.'

"Damn it!"

The bang of Megure's fist on his, luckily massive, desk brought everyone back to attention, but only Takagi and Sato looked up in surprise.

"Megure-keishi what-?"

But Megure waved Takagi off, he let himself sink back into his chair, before he looked up to Mori. "So, you haven´t told them yet?" He could see how Mori's gaze darkened, before he nodded.

"Told us what?" This time it was Sato who mustered Megure with sharp eyes, before he sent a sigh ahead of his answer.

"As you know we don´t have any witnesses to prove the arson, but some people of the neighborhood have seen something." He swallowed; a deep shadow formed itself between his eyebrows. "A back Porsche… I believe I don´t have to tell you the model of the car."

"What!?"

Sato had the feeling that thousands of little needles were piecing her skin. This answer was able to get the usually cool-headed officer into rage. Takagi took a sharp breath, they didn´t have much information about the organization, but they knew that they would have a big problem if they were involved with Bell in any way.

The thought of these ominous black figures never had let go of the two officers. Beside Mori, they had been involved with the two children the most, and it still seemed unreal that two primary schoolers had purposefully been murdered. The thought alone made the young parents shiver.

It was Takagi who was the first who finally found his voice again. "Do you believe that Bell is involved with them?"

Megure took long for an answer, but finally shook his head thoughtfully. "We can´t be sure." His eyes wandered to Mori, who had listened in silence so far. "That's why you're going to track Bell down, Mori-kun, I don´t care how, but find him."

Kogoro was about to answer, when Takagi had another question for Megure. "You mean, you don´t know where he is?"

"No, we haven't heard from him since yesterday. That's why I want you to find him Mori, is that clear?"

The detective swallowed but nodded.

"Alright, each of you knows what to do, there isn´t more we can do right now. And no matter what kind of ideas you might get, this is still about the case, I hope I don´t have to remind you of this fact."

"Yes, Megure-keishi."

"One more thing. Hattori is taking another look at the burned guesthouse. He doesn´t know about the Porsche and for now I want it to stay this way."

The three officers nodded and were about to leave when Megure's voice stopped them on their way. "If there is anything strange going on, I want to know about it right away, am I understood?" The stern voice also held a hint of concern, which they all noticed before they bid him goodbye with another nod.

When the door fell shut behind them, a long breath escaped Megure's lungs. He wiped his face with one hand, only to notice how cold his fingers were. But never mind - despite all fear this dark organization might have provoked, he would not allow such a thing to happen again.

XXX

She stopped in front of the door to his room, staring holes into the wood. How long had it been that she entered this room, how many times had she set her mind to at least wipe dust? But each time she had stood in front the door, her courage had failed her.

They shouldn´t have left him alone…

Never.

Neither of them had been there for him. They might have suggested Conan to come with them to America, to let Interpol handle everything else, even though they had already guessed what his reaction might be.

And then…

They were told that they lost him.

That Shinichi had been murdered by the very organization he'd been chasing for so long.

Yukiko blinked to get rid of the burning tears in her eyes.

They had even buried him.

Not Shinichi, but Conan.

Conan, with whom they've been distantly related, who they've rarely seen and barely knew.

Well, the last two points were somewhat true at least.

It had been a painful farce for them, not being able to at least bury him as Kudo Shinichi. She knew now that Yusaku hadn´t known that Shinichi was alive for too long. Her husband had left no stone unturned, so that they could at least bury him under his true name, but it seemed impossible without that the police and even the public would notice it.

So, they had no other choice than to bury him along with his lies.

Yukiko gasped for air and shook her head. All of this wasn´t real now anymore and was pushed back into the corner of her nightmares. They had been given a second chance and she would certainly take advantage of it.

The actress bit her lips and finally knocked on her son's door.

"Shinichi?"

She could hear how a cupboard was closed along with the rolls of an office chair, before he finally answered.

"Come in."

Yukiko opened the door, which shooed dust away. He stood in the middle of the room, looking at her inconclusively like he didn´t know if he belonged here or not. She swallowed and finally looked around the room she had been avoiding for so long.

"Jeez, Shinichi! I'm so sorry about this mess, please give me a second and I'll clean it right away."

"Mom, you don´t have to."

His voice was calm, but his gaze caused goosebumps to show on her skin. Shinichi's eyes made it clear that it wasn´t just about the dirt or dust in his room.

Yukiko hesitated for a second, before a smile appeared on her lips and she took a step towards him. She drove with her fingertips through his hair, looking at him for a while.

"I know… I know."

He swallowed, but nodded and turned away from her, looking at the dusty room himself.

"Besides, I'm able to clean this mess up all by myself. It's not like I've got anything to do today." Shinichi gave her a lopsided grin, which his mother returned hesitantly.

"Alright, if you're hungry, your father and I have been waiting for you to join us for breakfast."

"Huh? You made breakfast?"

The voice of her son was a little too surprised for her taste. "Is there anything you're trying to imply, Shinichi?" She stepped forward again, with her hands in her hips. "Don't forget that I'm still angry with you."

"Ah, no. Of course not."

"Thought so. That's why I got up early in order to present you a nice traditional Japanese breakfast, after you've been spending so much time in Amerika and this is your thanks?"

"I didn´t mean it like that Mom, I'll be down in a few minutes."

"Fine, but you better hurry before everything goes cold."

Shinichi nodded, watching how his mother turned around to leave him, before his voice stopped her again. "Mom… Thank you."

Yukiko froze and didn´t turn around, instead she just nodded, before she so much as fled the room.

The smile on his lips slowly faded. Shinichi's gaze fell back to the cupboard he'd hastily closed. He went back to open it again, pulling out what he had been hiding inside.

The picture of Ran and him in Tropical Land.

Shinichi swallowed and looked at the high schoolers for a long time, while his own face got mirrored in the picture frame. He frowned and put it back into the dark corner of the drawer.

He didn´t want to think about this picture now.

XXX

Shinichi knew that his mother had meant well making breakfast for him, however, the situation between the three Kudos was anything but relaxed. Yukiko kept on looking towards him over the rim of her coffee cup, like she was afraid that he might dissolve into thin air any moment. His father on the other hand, was hiding behind today's newspaper, so a distressing silence became their only companion. He knew that both of them, especially his father, still had an infinite number of questions. He might have told him about the FBI and Bell, but what happened ten years ago was still a secret to everyone. Agasa's appearance, who unceremoniously invited himself for breakfast, broke the tension a little, but only before Shinichi's or rather Bell's mobile started to ring.

Shinichi nearly choked on his last sip of coffee, then scrambled for Bell's phone in his pocket. But when the detective looked at the display, his face darkened. He bit his lips and switched into silent mode, before he put it back into his pocket. It was only when he looked up that he realized that they've been staring at him.

"What?"

Shinichi knew that the question had sounded a little too sharp and he nervously looked to the ground. However, it was enough for his father to deduce who had tried to call his son.

"That was Ran, wasn´t it?"

Shinichi held his breath for a second, but still avoided his gaze.

"Is she suspecting anything? Does she know?" Yusaku watched him, how he closed his eyes, before shaking his head.

"No. No, I don´t think so."

'Or, at least I hope so…"

XXX

The monotone sound of the empty line hammered in her ear, becoming more and more painful until she couldn´t bear it any longer. Ran swallowed and took the phone from her ear, staring at it for a while, before she finally touched the red button to put the call to an end.

"Shinichi…"

Ran's voice echoed lonely in her apartment. The young woman couldn´t stop her heartbeat from growing faster. Her gaze flickered across the newspaper, along with the picture of the remains of the guesthouse where he'd been staying.

What if something happened to him?

What if…

Ran bit her lips and shook her head.

Maybe he just had a lot of work right now, or… he ignored her deliberately.

Of course, he was alright. They would have mentioned something in the newspaper if something had happened to him. The police wouldn´t be able to keep something like that a secret.

Someone would know.

'Of course!'

If she wasn´t able to reach him, she would have to get her information from someone else instead.

Ran tried to ignore her shaking fingers while she typed the number on her phone screen and waited. Again, the ugly noise reached her ears, slowly becoming a nasty tinnitus, this time though, she wasn´t disappointed.

"Hattori here."

Suddenly, her voice failed her.

What was she supposed to say?

'Hey, Heiji-kun, is Bell with you? Is he still alive? Yeah, sure Ran, great idea.'

The detective on the other end of the line took a look at his display, which revealed him who had called him.

"Ran?"

She flinched when he called her by her name, closed her eyes and exhaled briefly, what finally gave Heiji a sign that she was actually on the phone. Her heart was pounding against her chest when she had finally made up her mind what to ask.

"Is he alright?"

She could hear a hiss on the other side, before Heiji clenched his teeth.

He knew exactly who she was asking for and why.

The Osakan swallowed, while his eyes wandered over the black pile of rubble of what had been the guesthouse just yesterday. Ran waited patiently for an answer, he knew that he'd been silent for far too long, like he didn´t know who she was talking about.

"He wasn´t there when it happened."

She exhaled, didn´t know she'd been holding her breath for the whole time. "Where is he now?"

This time however, the officer wasn´t easily wrapped around her finger. He wasn´t proud of it, but he knew that he had to lie to her before Kudo was about to rip his head off. "We don´t know."

"But-"

"Ran, I really can´t tell ya. I'm sure he'll get in touch with us sooner or later, it's obvious that someone is looking for him."

"Arson?"

"Looks like it… I'm sorry, Neechan, I really gotta go now."

He finished the call, leaving her to her own thoughts, which where tearing her apart between relief and disappointment. Sometimes, she wondered if it was even worth it, if he was good for her at all. If Shinichi didn´t even need to do something to hurt her in some way.

'Shinichi…'

XXX

"Alright, let's have a look, Shinichi."

The detective nodded and presented Bell's mask he'd been wearing yesterday that looked even more creepy without the matching wig. It was afternoon by now, they had been avoiding this subject all day, even though he knew that he was hopeless without Bell. And yet, he'd been cleaning his room and sorted his notes and thoughts on the murder until his mother didn´t stop bothering him.

Shinichi observed how his mother studied Bell's features, turning the mask from side to side in the process, so it looked like the Professor was shaking his head.

'Stop it already, Kudo.'

Bu the note to himself couldn´t hide the goosebumps that formed on his arms. He turned away impatiently, settling down on the small swivel chair in front of the tall mirror his mother used for her makeup. The room wasn´t large, yet Shinichi frowned at the thought that the whole room was filled with masks, disguises, wigs and makeup. Not that they would lack the space, but the dust he saw proved him that it was rarely used anymore, and yet his mum had enough stuff to equip a whole theatre company in here. He swallowed and looked in the mirror in front of him, while he observed Yukiko from the corner of his eyes.

He knew that she'd learned this art along with Sharon.

Who knew even better how to rob someone of their identity, or creating an entirely new person.

Vermouth, Sharon and Chris…

Sherry, Shiho, Ai.

'Bell, Shinichi… Conan.'

A bitter smile crept to Shinichi's features.

'Looks like I'm not the first one, who's stuck between three different lives.'

"Say mom, you told me that you've learned the whole disguise thing from a magician, right? Who exactly have you been talking about back then?"

Yukiko looked up, blinked at her son`s sudden question, before she answered.

"Of course… you were too small to remember him, I guess. His name was Kuroba Toichi, truly a master of his art." But the excitement of the actress faded by the end of her sentence.

Shinichi knew about the death of the magician, he remembered reading about him in some of his father's files. He remembered the name because his father had studied his death rather intense.

"I remember he died on stage, an accidence during his performance." His mother took a heavy breath, nodding. However, Shinichi couldn´t help himself but wonder why the name seemed to cause shivers running down his spine. Something in his mind screamed at him, while he couldn´t understand a single word.

 _Kuroba Toichi._

Why would the name of a dead magician have this effect on him?

Shinichi sighed, sinking deeper into his chair.

'I guess I'm probably just jumpy, that's all.'

"Well, I have to say someone did a good job with these."

Shinichi looked up to her, ripped from his thoughts.

"Do you think that you'll be able to copy it?"

His mother pursed her lips in a frown, Shinichi swallowed and noticed how old this gesture made her look, but he preferred to keep this thought to himself - thank you very much.

"It's not going to be easy, but we're going to try anyway. Just wait a second." With these words, the actress put the mask over the Styrofoam bust on her make up table, put the wig on its head, before she nearly vanished in one of her big cupboards, apparently searching for something.

Shinichi made a face when Bell's empty eyes stared at him, turning the bust away from him, only to notice that he was now staring at him through its mirror image. But just when the detective wanted to make a bad joke, the world around him suddenly grew dark.

"Mhmmhm…"

He could feel how someone was trying to fit something rubbery on his face, he could hear his mother's soft curse, before she finally let go of him, allowing her son to breathe again.

"What was that about!" Shinichi shot her an irritated look, now realizing that his mother was holding an old imprint of his face, scratching her temple with a misplaced grin.

"Sorry, Shinichi. I had hoped this would do it… I mean, the shape still fit's but definitely not well enough to produce a lifelike mask from it. Someone would notice that it doesn´t fit." Her eyes wandered to the imprint in her hand she had made just before the whole thing with the organization started, because Shinichi had to use it for a case.

"I just don´t understand why it wouldn´t fit any longer. After all, you're…"

But his mother stopped herself, bit her lips, but Shinichi knew it was already too late. He sighed, forced his eyes to look into the mirror where his own face and Bell's dead stare were reflected.

However, their gaze never met.

"You're right, my face should be the same as ten years ago. But in addition to the genes, the environment and the hormones are also important factors in growth and appearance of individual traits. The changes might not be noticeable enough to keep everyone from recognizing me, but enough that the imprint no longer fits." He took a long breath, trying to hold on to the lopsided grin on his lips that only looked forced underneath his tired eyes.

"I am not _Kudo Shinichi_ , the imprint is the best proof of that."

When he still turned his back to her, Yukiko had no other choice than to stare at his reflection, his words echoed in her chest - it hurt, so much. Seeing him like this broke her heart. She swallowed heavily and only now noticed the lump in her throat, so that her voice was rough when she finally spoke.

"Shinichi…"

But before Yukiko was able to finish her sentence, the doorbell disrupted her thoughts.

"Huh? Who could that be?" She was about to leave in order to answer the door, before Shinichi stopped her, putting a finger on his lips.

"Wait…"

He could hear steps and the doorbell finally died. Shinichi swallowed, pressing his ear against the door of his mother's room, and cursed. He could hear that someone was talking, but not enough to make out what they were saying. Without looking back to his mother, Shinichi slowly turned the door handle carefully, in order to prevent any noise. He opened the door just a little to hear who'd been at the door.

"… alright, what can I do for you guys?"

Yusaku's voice didn´t betray his tension, but he had to pull himself together not to behave too nervous. It wasn´t like they didn´t know each other, but they usually tended to avoid this house and its habitants. The late afternoon sun was in their backs, casting strange shadows on the faces of the high schoolers.

Ayumi swallowed, she noticed the skeptic gaze of the author. Kudo Yusaku already knew why they where here.

It was Mitsuhiko who finally raised his voice. "We want to ask if you could relay a message to Professor Bell."

Before Yusaku could raise a questioning eyebrow, the corner of his mouth twitched.

'Well, that's going to be interesting…'

The writer crossed his arms in front of his chest, leaning against the door frame, waiting, while he watched them with a firm glance.

"Is that so? And what makes you think that I'm able to-"

"Stop it…"

Ayumi's voice was barely audible and yet, her words had been determined and strong. The girl hadn´t looked up, only now managed to look his father in the eyes - eyes that were far too similar to his own.

"Please."

She swallowed but feeling the looks of her friends on her skin, she simply ignored her trembling heart and continued.

"Please, just listen."

Yusaku looked at the teens and couldn´t help himself - the three somehow impressed him.

They knew, that much was obvious, he wasn´t sure how much, but they knew about William Bell. And yet, none of them made any charges or demands while they seemed to contain their disappointment and anger, he could still see in their faces. The author raised an eyebrow and nodded, waiting for what they had to say.

Mitsuhiko struggled to tear his gaze from Ayumi, let alone find his voice, so that his sentence was accompanied with a hoarse cough. "We've been at the police headquarters today and… couldn't help but overhear a conversation of Megure-keishi." His tone changed from unsure to rather serious. "According to witnesses there has been a back Porsche 356A at the crime scene, just before the fire started."

Yusaku's eyes narrowed, yet he continued to listen, while Genta continued. "Furthermore, the forensics found traces of silicon in one room."

Mitsuhiko swallowed, nodded towards Genta before he turned to the author again.

"Megure-keishi is pretty nervous about the whole thing, especially when it comes to Bell himself." Yusaku could see that something else lingered on his tongue. Mitsuhiko looked at him for a second, before he decided to swallow his thought, taking a step back from the doorstep.

"Tell him that."

With this soft plea, the three turned around and left without looking back at Yusaku again. It seemed that they hurried in order leave the family's property. Yusaku's eyes followed them deep in thought until they vanished behind the wall.

'Shinichi, what have you done?'

Yusaku swallowed, closed the door only to lean against it. He took a long breath; their words had the air from his lungs. A suspicious crunch on the stairs revealed that he wasn´t alone with his thoughts. The author looked up, recognized his son coming down the stairs, looking rather pale, but Shinichi's voice was as calm as it has been all along.

A calm that slowly cost Yusaku some nerves.

"They know…"

Yusaku just nodded while Shinichi avoided his gaze. He seemed to search for answers on the parquet floor.

"But why-"

"You've been too good a teacher, Shinichi. You taught them more than is good for them."

Shinichi looked up, despair lying in his gaze, and he slowly shook his head.

"That's not what I mean. They left… why?"

But Yusaku only shared a tired smile with him. Of course, Shinichi had been expecting something else. Angry accusations, which truly lingered in them, but didn´t seem to be of importance right now.

"They're your friends, Shinichi, no matter how long it's been." Yusaku sighed.

'They're still friends with Edogawa Conan."

* * *

Hello again!

A huuuuge thanks for all your reviews! Since it's difficult to write right now they really help to keep the story going- since they truly brighten my day!

And again a big thank you to Tobina for her amazing work as my beta!

Someone else is going to find out about Shinichi in the next chapter- before we finally get to know what happend ten years ago.

And of course I would love to read your reviews, or see your kudo's or rebloggs below ^^

Till then!

~Shelling


	25. 25 The Truth behind

**The truth behind**

The new day already had started, and a lot of people arrived and left the building in the early morning. However, there was no trace of him. Kogoro finished his third cup of tea, so that his thermos grew empty rather quickly, while something else filled dangerously fast.

He cursed, sliding back and forth in his seat. He'd been out of service far too long to remember a very important rule in observation.

'No partner, no drink.'

The officer growled briefly, sinking deeper into the seat of his car and lightened his next cigarette. Perhaps he should have told someone about his plan. On the other side, like this he was able to avoid the questions that would have been asked. For his colleagues certainly didn´t like to see him shadowing one of their own when he originally was supposed to be searching for Bell. But he simply hadn´t expected that Hattori would take so long. On the contrary - the former "sleeping" detective had been sure the Osakan would be up with the birds to stop by to visit him, before work. Now he had been waiting in front of his hotel for about three hours and nothing had happened.

The most exciting thing today was the group of European tourists who had gathered in front the hotel, looking through their travel guides before they simply decided to go left with a shrug. He grunted - as if those little books would help them in the maze of Tokyo. Not to mention that the so called "best sushi in town" probably would literally run past them.

Bored, he blew the cigarette smoke against the windshield, only to notice that the dense smoke had once again fogged whole car. He cranked the window of his old rental car down, only a little. And while he tipped the head of his glowing cigarette against the open window, his eyes moved back to the hotel gate, and finally saw who he'd been waiting for.

Hattori Heiji, stepping out of the foyer of the building, straightening his collar before he headed to the parking lot, not taking note of him.

Kogoro waited until Heiji started the engine and left the parking lot, before he squeezed his car behind Hattori and a white Suzuki.

What he knew back from police school and his experience, told him not to get to close, but something else told him that it didn´t matter if he lost him anyway, as long as Hattori didn´t grow suspicious.

Because Kogoro had a very good idea to where the detective's path would lead him.

XXX

Heiji parked the car in the driveway of the Kudo mansion. Now he stood at the door, waiting for it to be opened. Actually, there was no real reason for him to be nervous, after all Kazuah, himself and especially the little Haikuro were welcome guests in this house. Kudo's mother in particular had developed a great affinity to the little boy and often insisted to take care of him when they were in town.

This time however, the situation was different.

He had known about her son´s secret, not much sooner than them, but it still mattered. It would have been his duty to tell them that Shinichi was still alive. But he hadn´t, and probably wouldn´t have if Kudo had gone back to America. Maybe it was this very thought that made him finch when Yusaku finally opened the door.

"Good morning, Hattori-kun, if you're searching for Shinichi you'll have to wait for a little bit since he isn´t… responsive right now." Heiji, who muttered a good morning himself, raised his eyebrow at the strange comment, but followed the author into the kitchen and soon understood what Yusaku meant.

Surrounded by a pile of newspapers, sitting on a small stool, wearing something that suspiciously looked like a garbage bag, was Kudo Shinichi, or at least what he seemed to be him. Heiji could as well be staring at some sort of monster fresh out of a horror movie. A grey, undefinable mass, which now had ceased to drip on the newspaper below, with barely any traits of humanity.

"How much longer, Yukiko?" Yusaku asked.

The actress had started to put the remnants of her mixture away and started to clean the bucket she'd used, only to notice the visitor following her husband.

"Ah good morning, Heiji-kun, I'll be with you in a minute."

But he just waved her off. "Please don´t worry about me, Kudo-san."

Yukiko however just rolled her eyes while she dried her hands with a towel. "How many times have I told you to call me Yukiko. But to answer your question Yusaku, he'll be finished in a few minutes. However, I guess he'll want to shower first… so, you're sure that you don´t want anything, Heiji-kun?"

Hattori sighed, pushing a chair from the kitchen table and settled down. "Well, if that's tha case, I might have a coffee."

"Sure. Oh – say Heiji-kun, what's going on between Ran-can and Shinichi- Bell I mean?"

The Osakan blinked, looking slightly alarmed towards his friend captured in "concrete" before Yukiko winked with a grin.

"Don´t worry about him, you should know that one can´t hear anything beneath all this."

Heiji swallowed but nodded hesitantly. He sure could remember this very unpleasant feeling. For one, the stuff was freaking heavy, sitting in every inch and pore of your face, and the fact that you felt completely isolated from the world around you, except for two tiny holes to breathe through, wasn´t helping. He'd never known a deeper darkness or silence than this. It felt as if you were trapped and the longer it took the more you lost the sense of time and space, so you could only hope that it would be over any second now, so that someone would free you from the muddy prison.

But even when Shinichi couldn´t hear him right now, the officer hesitated to answer the question of Shinichi's mother.

"I'm afraid that it's not my turn ta answer. Ta be honest, I don´t understand it either."

Yukiko just looked at him, before she shook her head, slowly.

"You should know Yukiko, that Hattori-kun keeps our son's secrets to himself."

Heiji flinched, and looked up at the author, who just placed a cup of coffee in front of him, before he sat down at the table with his own mug. Heiji lowered his gaze in guilt, while he spoke.

"It's… not like that." He sighed, turning to his immobile friend who's stony face wasn´t helpful at all.

"I guess, he doesn´t know what's goin' on either, but we should be careful. Ran might know more than she's aware of."

The author observed the friend of his son, ignoring the small voice in his head, which kept asking him how Shinichi might look like at that age, instead took a sip of his coffee.

"That's true. It's better not to underestimate our women, most of the time they don´t need any kind of evidence, since they've got a six sense for that."

Heiji remained silent, taking a sip of his cup himself, and allowed the bitter taste of the dark substance to burn his tongue, while Yukiko brushed her husband's neck.

"That's a very fine conclusion, darling." Yusaku just laughed but tried to get away from his wife's fingers at the same time.

"Well… I didn´t say that your instinct is always right."

"Yusaku!"

XXX

"You're sure, Mori-kun?"

Megure pulled a scarf around his neck, he hadn´t experienced such a cold spring morning all week, it was like winter gave them a late greeting from afar.

The police officer leaned against his rental car, he had lit, what felt like, the hundredth cigarette that day and never tore his eyes away from the building while he answered.

"I am, Megure-keishi." Kogoro's voice didn´t waver, it had taken him almost fifteen minutes to gather the courage to call Megure, to tell him where Bell was hiding. He knew that it might be a mistake to betray him, but Mori was willing to take the risk. Because he didn´t want to take the chance that the situation would escalate again, he simply couldn´t see Ran suffering again.

'You had your chance, Kudo.'

Megure nodded though Mori's silence didn´t escape his notice, but for now he decided to ignore it, they had enough to worry about.

"Alright." The officer took a long breath, hiding his hands in the pockets of his coat.

"We're waiting for Sato and Takagi, then we'll go in." He could hear how Mori muttered something into the filter of his cigarette, before he turned around to the building himself.

The Kudo mansion.

Megure frowned.

'Why here? Why would he stay here of all places?'

The first explanation that came to his mind was that the two writers might know each other, so that the American decided to stay here. But something in his stomach told Megure that this wasn´t the case. And if he had learned something in his years of service, it was the fact that he should better listen to his guts.

XXX

After Yukiko was satisfied with the imprint of her son and he had showered the rest of the mud off, he took a seat to tell Heiji what happened with the Detective Boys. Heiji swallowed the bitter remnants of his now cold coffee, slowly looking over the rim of his cup.

"So, it's fact - tha organization knows about ya bein' Bell?" He laid his head into his hand thoughtfully while he spoke.

"But tha fire-"

"Wasn't supposed to kill me, no." Shinichi sighed, leaning back in his chair.

"I guess it was some sort of warning, what seems even stranger, since the organization isn't known for unfinished business."

"Ya mean there's more behind it?"

"Well, we've been thinking about that they might wanted to take care of Bell and for now they did. But I'm sure there is more to it."

Heiji could see how the eyes of his friend darkened, and he couldn´t help but frown at the thought. They were hunting him, pushing him into a corner and then…

The officer swallowed, just was about to voice his thoughts, when Yusaku interrupted them.

"Shinichi… I'm afraid we'll get company."

Yusaku stepped into the room, his gaze was fixed on the window from where one could see down the street. Shinichi stood up to join his father with a frown, while Heiji did the same. They quickly realized who his father meant.

"Damn!" A hoarse course came from the officer's throat. "What are they doin' here? Nobody knew that I was goin' ta visit ya- or Bell. How tha heck did they found ya?"

Shinichi bit his lips, his eyes wandered over the small troupe that had gathered outside, obviously discussing the situation. His gaze got stuck on a person who contrary to everyone else simply stared at the house while his colleagues were talking. The high school student just sighed and turned away from the window.

"Don´t be unfair Hattori, they're your colleagues after all, officer- you've got to have faith in the police." He swallowed and massaged the bridge of his nose. "However, I've got an idea to who we owe this little visit."

The author turned around impatiently, facing his son. He could hear Yukiko humming a small song upstairs, while she was working on Bell's façade. By now, Yusaku knew the procedure well enough to know that she wouldn´t be finished today, let alone in the next five minutes. His concerned gaze fell on his son.

"So… what are you going to do now?"

XXX

Yusaku himself opened the door for them, but didn´t dwell too long on the doorstep but offered the officers to come in.

"Good morning everyone, please com in." Without another word, Yusaku went ahead towards the living room, where Kudo Yukiko greeted them with a fitting number of cups with sweet-sentenced tea.

They clearly had been expecting them.

The police officers took Yusaku's invitation and sat down, the only one who kept standing was Megure himself to look at his host and old friend for a long time. He had asked him - after the Kudo's had returned to live in Japan - for help for the one or other case, but Yusaku had turned the invitation down as often as he could. Juzo could only speculate what was going on in the father's mind, but he knew that the author was well aware of why they where here.

"I suppose you know why we're here, Yusaku-kun."

The writher just wanted to reply when he was interrupted again. Megure nervously wandered through the room, his index and middle fingers went beneath his hat to rub his scar thoughtfully, as he spoke. "Before you're going to say anything, please let me explain.

We're here because we have reason to believe that the attack on William Bell yesterday was caused by the same organization that is responsible for the death of Haibara Ai and Edogawa Conan. Furthermore, we fear that they might be involved in the current "Holmes" case. Of course, we have to investigate the connection of Professor Bell with this criminal organization." The officer sighed and finally dropped into one of the large armchairs, leaning his elbows on his knees as he continued.

"We know he's here, Yusaku. Denying it won´t help any of us. If he has any information about them or the case, we need to know. Whether he's going to help us or not, we can't simply ignore them, it's time to finally put a stop to their dark deeds. The FBI might have tried to hinder our investigations since they thought it wasn´t our business, but it is _now_!" Megure had become louder towards the end, he turned away from Yusaku, his eyes softened along with his tone.

"It's been our business for more than ten years now…" Megure swallowed dryly, his voice was nothing more than a hoarse whisper.

"I can´t and won´t risk that something like that will ever happen again."

Yusaku looked at his old friend, trying to ignore the sudden silence, which seemed to fill the whole room. He sighed before he took the chance to respond before another voice intervened.

"You don´t have to."

His voice made them jump, the officers immediately turned around, searching for the owner of those words and found him leaning against the door frame, from where he slowly approached them, only to pause in reasonable distance. A tired smile rested on his pale lips that seemed difficult to hold in place. His eyes carried an apologizing look while his gaze wavered from one to another.

"You shouldn´t blame yourself for what happened anyway, Megure-keishi… someone else carries this guilt."

Megure wasn´t the only one who held his breath at the sudden appearance of the high school student, neither was he the only one who stood up seeing him, staring at him, but he was the first to get his, albeit still raspy, voice back.

"Kudo! But you-"

'- don´t look a day older.'

Even the silence of the former sleeping detective was disturbed by the sudden appearance of the teenager, so that the officer immediately grew pale around his nose. None of them had seen him for so long and yet the appearance of the high school detective seemed unchanged.

Instead of an adult, who had grown to look even more like his father, it was still the teenager, who had disappeared ten years ago and had been considered dead on the quiet. The officers all were haunted by the same thoughts, and perhaps it was because Sato had known Kudo Shinichi the least of them all, but it was her who finally came to another conclusion.

"No… not Kudo-kun, but-"

She took a step towards him but stopped herself and blinked in order to banish the ghost of the little boy with too big glasses from her eyes.

"- Conan."

Shinichi flinched, dared to cast her a quick glance, who interpreted his reaction as a clear confirmation of her deduction.

"But how? How is this possible?"

Shinichi swallowed, felt the eyes of the police officers on his skin and noticed how the lump in his throat started to grow, so that his voice would fail him if he wouldn´t speak now. His gaze briefly wandered back to them before he avoided their eyes again, awkwardly rubbing his neck.

"Actually… both of you are right."

He continued before the question could even form on their lips.

"Standing in front of you is Edogawa Conan as well as Kudo Shinichi. They've always been one and the same." He swallowed and looked up into their horrified faces.

"I'm sorry." ´

For a moment there was only silence, simple speechlessness that seemed to overwhelm Megure, who fell back into the leathern armchair with a heavy thud. Shinichi allowed the silence to wash over him, waiting for the scolding. However, what the detective hadn´t expected was the quiet question of Takagi, who's eyes still rested on him.

"How?"

Shinichi just sighed and let himself sink onto the couch next to his mother. He brushed with his fingers through his hair, started to talk without raising his gaze from the ground. He told them about Conan, the poison, the organization and Ai. About how he managed to show up as himself from time to time as well as why he had kept everything to himself. He mentioned Bell - he was unavoidable after all since he was what allowed him to live in public. His parents were the only ones who noticed that there still was an issue the detective wasn´t talking about, one thing he hadn´t told anyone until now. But the police officers had enough to process to notice that anyway.

Takagi was deep in thought, his mind was playing scenes from the past in front his inner eye, which suddenly turned out to make much more sense in retrospective. He might have guessed that there was something about the little boy, but he'd never suspected it to be something like this. Sato's gaze was still fixed on him and caused the detective the most discomfort. Even Megure seemed to be looking at something no one else could see, his eyes were darting back and forth nervously, before his gaze abruptly stopped to look at Shinichi again.

"You've been Conan."

Shinichi swallowed but nodded.

"Yeah, technically I still am." But the high school student's smile wasn't mirrored by the officer.

'Still too early for stupid jokes, Kudo.' Shinichi swallowed, waiting patiently for Megure to continue.

"You've been there, all this time… on all those crime scenes and cases and I didn´t even notice?" The old policeman frowned when he realized what he'd done instead.

'Instead of noticing anything, I threw you out of the room, I didn´t believe you and I just wanted to get rid of you as soon as possible.' Shinichi seemed to guess what was going through Megure's head and thought it would be better to intervene before he could blame himself for something that wasn´t his fault.

"Please don´t blame yourself, Megure-keishi. I wouldn´t have acted any different in your place." The officer looked up, trying to recognize Conan in the familiar face, before he tried to imagine the high schooler with foreign skin and glasses, before he realized something else.

"Jeez, I put you under arrest! Accusing you of murder." Shinichi laughed hollowly at the horror displayed on the officer's face, before he shook his head.

"For one you had a good reason for that and actually, it has been Hattori who denounced me." He grinned once more before he continued with a sigh.

"You've done the right thing, even if I would be happy if we could avoid such an incident in the near future."

For the first time Mori finally joined the conversation. But unlike his colleagues wasn´t looking at him in surprise or brooding in embarrassing silence. Instead, he looked sharply at him, while he asked his question.

"Why are you telling us this? Why now?"

Shinichi looked at Kogoro for a long time but shook his head with a frown.

"I wish I wouldn´t have to, honestly…" A bitter taste crept into Shinichi's mouth and strained his tongue, making it difficult to speak.

"But since you're already involved in the matters of the organization, and since they seem to be involved in the current case it is only logical that you're not going to drop it so easily again. I can´t allow you to chase these figures without that you know what you're getting into." Shinichi smiled bitterly.

"Honestly, I just hope that I might be able to prevent you from continue the investigation." But when he looked into the round of people around him, he doubted that that was an option at all.

'I guess I can just kiss goodbye to this one.'

"Anyway, I'm just waiting for the FBI to get involved. I am sure that they won´t miss such an opportunity, since it might be our only chance to finally stop them. Right now, you still can deny knowing anything about it." Shinichi's voice had grown bitter and cast a shiver down the police officers back, but even when his eyes pleaded for them to go, he knew that he would not be able to persuade them to drop the case.

But the tired and worn out appearance of the high school student triggered a completely different memory in Takagi.

"But if- if that's true- how… how are you still alive?"

Shinichi swallowed, avoiding their eyes so that he couldn't see how Megure slowly grew pale, while Takagi stammered his next words.

"Edogawa Conan died. He's dead. We saw him in the pathology… how." Takagi's eyes lay restless on the young man. The pictures of the blazing fire and the child's corpse that was barely recognizable still left a hollow feeling in their stomachs.

The high schooler sunk deeper into the warm sofa, while he cursed the FBI for what they had done to the people he cared about. And yet, he couldn´t blame them, after all he has been the one who'd started everything.

"It seems like I've a lot to explain."

While the officers just stared at him in silence, Hattori finally entered the room, since he had considered it to be better to hold back until now.

"That's a way ta say it. I guess we all would like ta get an explanation, Kudo. When we're goin' ta help ya, we need ta know what happened back then."

Shinichi bit his lips, stared holes into the floor for a few seconds before he nodded.

"You're right…"

He massaged the bridge of his nose with a frown.

"However, I guess it would be better if Ayumi and the others would be here too, I don´t feel like telling this story twice…"

'Besides… they have a right to know.' Shinichi sighed but then turned to his father who was still sitting opposite him.

"As I know them, they're probably still with the Professor. Tou-san could you-" The author just nodded and disappeared out of the room without another word.

"The kids know?" Sato looked at him in surprise. Had they truly been so blind, or did he trust them so little that he only told them about his secret now? Shinichi nervously rubbed the back of his neck.

"Well… actually, they saw me, when I fled from the cafe."

"I see… that's the reason you couldn´t stay." Shinichi sighed, but nodded.

"Yes, the blow had a rather bad effect on Bell's face." But the smile on Shinichi's lips stayed lonely, while the officer tried to understand what truly had happened around him the past days and years.

Only when steps were heard, the silent room came to live again. Shortly after, not only Yusaku but also the Professor along with the detective boys entered. The three gasped for breath at the sight of their long-lost member.

He was still one of them.

Back in the dark alley, the glimpse they got at the high schooler had been enough to recognize him, but far to less to really see him. Shinichi pushed himself from his seat, nodded slowly to greet them, but avoided the apologizing smile even when he clearly radiated remorse. The detective boy's however didn´t move, their faces were set in stone, before Mitsuhiko took a step towards him. Shinichi who now almost stood opposite him, showed everyone in the room once again how much time had messed with Kudo Shinichi.

The words of his former classmate were calm and chosen rather carefully, but yet a dangerous threat lingered in Mitsuhiko's words.

"I hope you've got a good explanation for why we only get to know about it now. I get why you had to keep it a secret from us, but why from the police as well? I hope you can tell us why you didn´t turn to them earlier.

Why you didn´t let them help you.

Why she had to die… and why you left her in this place.

Alone.

"I really hope you have a good explanation for this… Edogawa-kun."

* * *

Hey everybody,

I know, I know… to early for an update, but since I'm on holyday next week I thought- why not?

I hope you enjoyed the chapter- the next one will be a flashback, so that you finally get to know what happened 10 years ago. And for all of you waiting for more ShinRan , chapter 28 (we just reached 25 so we're halfway done!) is called "A shot through the heart"… doubt that I have to say more *evilgrin*

Thanks to each and every one who's reading this and of course thanks for all these lovely reviews!

As always Tobina did an amazing job as my Beta!

I hope you like the chapter, I would love to hear your thoughts!

See you next month,

Shelling~


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